Buy-to-let mortgage specialist Paragon stated today that falling interest rates have benefited struggling landlords.
Paragon noted that in 2008, landlords were struggling to meet expensive mortgage repayments.
Since the four consecutive base rate cuts, however, Paragon says that buy-to-let mortgages have become cheaper, allowing landlords “benefit from wider rental margins.”

The Financial Services Authority warned on Monday that 2.5 million UK property owners could face negative equity as house prices decline.
Of those 2.5 million, 500,000 are thought to be buy-to-let mortgage holders, whom the FSA have highlighted with particular concern.
Property prices, the FSA said, are expected to fall further until 2010, meaning that the worst [...]

Buy-to-let mortgage holders could stand to make greater profits this year, according to a study by Paragon Mortgages.
The study claims that average quarterly yield from a landlord’s portfolio is now 6.1%, up from 5.7% in Q3 of last year.
This figure is expected to rise by a further 0.2% as rents increase and property prices fall.

The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association has warned that the government must support buy-to-let borrowers.
The IMLA warned that buy-to-let mortgage holders will be hardest hit in the housing price crash.
Executive director of the IMLA Peter Williams said:
“Currently, broker-facing lenders who traditionally serve the buy-to-let market are being frozen out by the government.
“Without support helping lenders to free up [...]

A spokesperson from the affordable housing pressure group PricedOut has claimed that government measures to avert repossessions are not working.
The spokeswoman said that the real issues that need addressing are appropriate taxation on people with buy-to-let mortgages, housing shortgages, and poor lending regulations.
PricedOut claims that buy-to-let mortgage holders had entered the market since 1999, pricing [...]

Research from buy-to-let mortgage expert the Money Centre claims that 75% of landlors are “turning a profit” despite the recession.
The figures show that roughly the same amount of buy-to-let landlords are making a profit from their property as were in 2007 at the height of the housing boom.
In fact, in the last few months of [...]

In a poll of 1,000 landlords, many with buy-to-let mortgages, it was revealed that the optimum tenant is female.
Landlords were specific in their preferences, stating that the ideal tenant would also be aged between 36 and 45, earning between £20,000 and £30,000, and working in the health sector.
25% of landlords would prefer a tenant [...]

The Financial Services Authority today announced that buy-to-let mortgages have been ‘more stable’ in the recession.
Other mortgage products have suffered from declining new lending levels, falling 59% since September 2007.
Meanwhile, however, buy-to-let lending has been ‘more stable’ over the period, accounting for 12% of all residential lending since Q2 2007.

Whilst other house prices have plummeted, the price of buy-to-let properties has remained largely constant over the last year, the Financial Times reports.
This means that buy-to-let mortgage seekers will not be able to take advantage of low housing prices and buy up properties when they are cheapest.
Investment, however, has been flourishing in early [...]

The buy-to-let mortgage market has shrunk dramatically since 2008, a new study finds.
Moneyfacts reveals that mortgage lenders have removed 93% of their buy-to-let deals from their range of profucts in the last 12 months.
The remaining deals demand at least a 20% deposit, the research says.