COVID-19 Guide: Buy-to-Let Landlords and Borrowers
Written on 3 April 2020 by
John Charcol’s resident mortgage expert Nick Morrey gives you his latest update on COVID-19’s effect on the UK mortgage and property markets. You can find our summary below the video.
What Developments Have Been Made Regarding Buy-to-Let Landlords?
- The Government have said that payment holidays will include all buy-to-let landlords as well as all residential borrowers
- This means that if the end date for your existing product is approaching, you’ll need to decide whether you want to do a payment holiday and wait for a product transfer, or whether you’d rather do a product transfer now and hold off until you’re able to do the payment holiday as most lenders cannot do a payment holiday and product transfer at the same time
What Measures Did the UK Government Put in Place for Buy-to-Let Landlords?
- The Government have announced that buy-to-let landlords are able to get a 3 month payment holiday like residential borrowers
What Advice Would You Give to Landlords?
- Talk to your tenants to find out what’s going on and how they are as, although they may not be able to pay rent for a few months whilst their situation changes, you - as a landlord - will face significant costs if you need to replace them – e.g. estate agents, moving costs, etc.
Will There Be Opportunities in the Property Market in the Coming Months?
- There will be opportunities in the next few months in the property market as property prices are likely to take a bit of a tumble
- If you’re looking to expand your portfolio or remortgage some existing properties then now’s the time to get your finances in order and take advantage of the market
What Action Can I Take?
- You can get your finances in order: talk to a mortgage adviser, get a plan of action together and decide on your next steps
- Speak to a mortgage adviser if:
- You’re looking to do product transfers
- You want to know more about payment holidays
- You’re looking to raise money
- You want to see if there’s a better option for you on the market than your product transfer
- If you’re looking for a mortgage, make sure you submit an application to get things ready before rates go up so that you benefit from the lower rates on the market right now
Categories: General, Robyn Clark
The blog postings on this site solely reflect the personal views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views, positions, strategies or opinions of John Charcol. All comments are made in good faith, and John Charcol will not accept liability for them.