Landlords look to long-term gains

Permalink: Landlords look to long-term gains
by Gill Montia

Latest research from Alliance & Leicester Mortgages (A&LM) shows that over half of the UK’s landlords are investing in buy-to-let properties to build up assets for the future, rather than provide an income for the present day.

In its most recent annual Landlord Index, A&LM found that 57% of landlords surveyed were depending on their property investments to provide a retirement fund or to cover other future expenses.

Only 11% of respondents were using rental income to supplement their present main income.

Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at A&LM, points out that: “Releasing the equity built up in a rental property over a number of years could provide a crucial lump sum to cover future needs, like university fees … or even acting as an alternative pension pot.”

The study also indicates that 31% of landlords are over 55 and that 64% see the rental industry as a long-term means of gaining assets.

The majority of landlords questioned were male, with women making up only 41% of the quota.

Meanwhile figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors show a slight rise in the percentage of landlords planning to sell their properties when their current tenants leave.

The figure rose from 6.1% in the third-quarter of 2007, to 6.5% in the fourth-quarter.