14
Jan
Landlords primarily 'enthusiastic amateurs'
Just one in 25 (four per cent) landlords in the UK currently view
themselves as full-time professionals, with 87 per cent claiming
that renting properties is a "profitable pastime".
Figures from Alliance & Leicester Mortgages indicate that most
landlords are amateurs who are investing in property with long-term
goals such as funding their retirement or paying university fees
for their children in mind.
Over half of the landlords polled for the survey (57 per cent)
stated that they invest in buy-to-let property in order to store up
assets in the future, with 31 per cent of landlords aged over
55.
The latest Alliance & Leicester Mortgages Landlord Index claims
that 11 per cent of landlords earn half or more of their average
monthly income from buy-to-let properties and almost two thirds (64
per cent) plan to continue in the property rental market.
Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester,
commented: "It is encouraging to see landlords taking a measured,
long-term approach to their buy-to-let investments."
Just 21 per cent of landlords are in the buy-to-let property market
for the short term, with the average period that landlords plan to
let property standing at around 18 years. According to the
research, women tend to take a more long-term attitude to property
rental than men.
