Brokers said that more landlords are looking at short-term lets but these cases are harder to place.
More landlords are looking at short-term and holiday lets and lenders have to match this interest with more innovation, brokers have claimed.
Andrew Montlake, director at Coreco, said few lenders would place holiday let cases, but Airbnb is a bit more complex and lenders are more selective.
He added other than rates, it’s location and short-term lets that landlords are looking for.
Montlake said: “There has to be more innovation around Airbnb and how lenders deal with that because that’s something a lot of portfolio landlords are doing with at least part of their portfolio.”
Michael Lawlor, business principal of Mortgage Advice Bureau in Finchley, added: “We’re getting more of these enquires, they’re very difficult to place and we’d like to see more options for landlords.
“I’m getting more enquiries for Airbnb than I’ve ever had so it’d be great if some other lenders joined that market to give more option to our clients.”
Adam Kasamun, associate director at LDNfinance, said if there are restrictions saying it has to be a holiday let then many lenders will not do it.
He said: “I think for people (landlords) to diversify they have to be able to take risks as well.
“HMO can be quite risky and there is a lot of regulation around it and with holiday lets, not many people want to do it.
“Airbnb, we know about that. It’s about maybe landlords being ahead of the curve.
"The limited company thing is a lot more mainstream than it was four, five years ago.
“More people are aware of it but the people who did it four, five years ago are seeing the benefits of it now because they were ahead of it. Do it now and you can make more from it.”
Jeff Knight, director of marketing at Foundation Home Loans, said that Foundation underwriters short-term let buy-to-lets in the same way as normal buy-to-let cases.
He added: “The only difference is that we do not ask for an AST (Assured Short Term Tenancy Agreement).
“By underwriting these in the same way gives the landlord the flexibility to revert to normal letting should they require to do so, giving fair customer outcomes.
“Having undertaken some landlord focus groups recently, I can say that this market will grow, albeit it will still be very much a niche area, as it gives portfolio landlords in particular opportunities to diversify their portfolios.”
