B2L potential clear to serious investors

26 July 2010

After watching an episode of Dragons’ Den my mind started wandering back over some ingenious money-making schemes or inventions I have missed out on over the years.

On one occasion after a drink or two a friend confessed to me he had invented a fish walker in his youth. His pitch was that fish would like to get out more. The worst thing was that he built it and paraded it in front of the whole school.

Then, sad as I am, my thoughts turned to property and buy-to-let. The buy-to-let market has transformed from the amateur speculator’s ’get rich quick’ scheme of recent years into a more serious long-term venture for portfolio investors.

These investors are negotiating discounts from builders or selectively purchasing homes and holding properties for long-term yield and capital appreciation.

With this in mind it’s good to see The Business Mortgage Company’s latest index for Q2 2010 indicating that the market is picking up, with remortgaging gaining in popularity.

For the third quarter in succession TBMC saw a rise in the proportion of applications for buy-to-let remortgages - 45% in Q2, up from 41% and 31% in the previous two quarters.

This is good news for portfolio landlords and the industry in general. It also shows that competition is being injected into the buy-to-let market and that while times are tough, investors continue to realise its potential.