Our recent research amongst landlords showed that only 21% said they were a full-time landlord. The rest had another job. So it is fully understandable why it is difficult for landlords to keep abreast of the constant flow of regulatory changes.
Andrew Ferguson, commercial director at Foundation Home Loans
Our recent research amongst landlords showed that only 21% said they were a full-time landlord. The rest had another job. So it is fully understandable why it is difficult for landlords to keep abreast of the constant flow of regulatory changes. Even those full-time landlords that I know struggle, so just imagine what it is like for the rest.
This is why having a financial adviser is so important for landlords, which is great news. Over the years we have read about perceived threats to the adviser community, from when the internet first begun through to robo advice and a new era of AI. But nothing can be further from the truth and landlords are now wanting a relationship that goes beyond pure advice on their mortgage.
This was reinforced in our research. Of those landlords using a financial adviser, 23% wanted help in understanding how new regulation affects them. There are changes to the licencing rules for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in October, for example. This has been discussed a few times within the media, but I suspect many of your landlord clients will be in the dark about this. For some, they may need to raise capital if they need to make any refurbishments and changes to comply with the new HMO licencing rules.
A further 35% of landlords, who use a financial adviser, said they need help understanding the implications of taxation, given the raft of rule changes that have been implemented. It is a complex area and I know some advisers are building reciprocal arrangements with tax advisers to determine if owning a buy-to-let property via a limited company is the right thing to do for the client. Nonetheless, the market is seeing a rise in limited company buy-to-lets. At Foundation Home Loans, over 40% of our buy-to-let applications are under this structure.
The buy-to-let market continues to change and because of this change, your landlord clients need your help more than ever – and there are lots of landlords out there who don’t have a financial adviser and are probably on the lookout for one. So take advantage before someone else does.
