Press Release Summary = It is a fair bet that every landlord and buy-to-let investor in the country has at some point wished they could miss their mortgage payments for a month or two. This could be for any number of reasons, such as redecorating property already in the portfolio or freeing up the cash to provide a deposit for a new one. Such flexibility would be a welcome feature for anyone who holds a mortgage, but especially for those whose property is their business.
Press Release Body = It is a fair bet that every landlord and buy-to-let investor in the country has at some point wished they could miss their mortgage payments for a month or two. This could be for any number of reasons, such as redecorating property already in the portfolio or freeing up the cash to provide a deposit for a new one. Such flexibility would be a welcome feature for anyone who holds a mortgage, but especially for those whose property is their business.
According to market research, lenders are recognising this desire for flexibility and are responding to it appropriately. The MoneyExpert research found that the number of mortgages on the market that offer \'payment holiday\' facilities has increased by more than 50 per cent in the last six months, from 409 to 629.
Payment holidays allow homeowners to stop their mortgage repayments for an agreed period. They are normally only allowed if the borrower has been a customer for a set period of time and has regularly met the repayment schedule on their mortgage. In addition to the benefits they offer buy-to-let landlords, they can also be useful for the homeowner who needs to free up some cash for a certain period of time.
Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert, speculated that the move towards flexible mortgage lending may in part be a result of the recent interest rate rises - January\'s in particular. \"You\'d think that the mortgage is the last thing you\'d be allowed to let slip, but lenders want you to stay on the straight and narrow and would rather help than hinder,\" he said, adding that \"things are tighter than they used to be\".
With this in mind, he says that property owners \"looking for good deals may be attracted by the prospect of taking a payment holiday to ease the financial burden if things get tough or if their circumstances change\".
Similarly, a rise has been noted in the number of lenders now offering 100 per cent mortgages. In 2006, there was a 26 per cent rise in the number of such mortgages granted, according to the Mortgage Advice Bureau. Not only that, but many lenders have now begun to increase the income multiple that they are prepared to lend, from the previous average of around 3.5 times the borrowers salary to around five times. With forecasts predicting another good year in the buy-to-let market for 2007, these latest trends may interest investors, especially those who are looking to enter the market for the first time.
2012
