Buy-to-let repossessions likely to rise in 2009

Posted under Advice by Jermaine

Year 2009 is going to be another tough year for buy-to-let landlords, predicts the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA).

The Association has forecast increase in rate of repossessions due to likely failure of large number of landlords in payments of their mortgage.

Though homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages are being offered additional assistance by the government, the same is not extended to buy-to-let landlords, leading to prediction that existing tenants would be at greater risk of losing homes in 2009.

But ARLA’s operations manager, Ian Potter believes that buy-to-let market would revive by the end of 2010 and landlords who had withdrawn from the market would entice back on account of fall in house prices.

Potter hopes that fall in saving accounts interest rates would prompt investors once again to make long-term investment in property. He also expects that homeowners, who opted for letting as they could not sell, would be encouraged by the rise in rental income and understand benefits of buying-to-let.

According to Potter, 2009 would remain patchy with regard to rental returns and his advice to those aspiring to become landlords is to look for areas, such as university towns where students opt for short-term rents, so that property could be let out easily.

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