Buy to let mortgage constraints 'pushing landlords to peer-to-peer lenders'

A financial analyst says current buy to let mortgage constraints - with a strong possibility of more later this year - may mean property investors will become increasingly tempted to resort to so-called ‘peer-to-peer lenders.

Writing in The Independent, Andrew Hagger - a financial analyst from www.moneycomms.co.uk - says recent tax changes proposed by Chancellor George Osborne, along with forthcoming higher stamp duty levels for buy to let investors may deter some people. But he insists there is still a substantial income to be made by letting residential property.

However, in a bid to lower stress levels of landlords finding it increasingly hard to source lenders who do not require ever-larger deposits and charge substantial interest rates and arrangement fees, Hagger suggests peer-to-peer lenders.

Hagger’s article extols the virtues of individuals putting their money into peer-to-peer lenders such as LendInvest; their returns are likely to be good, he says, because increasing numbers of landlords may seek this route to obtain finance for future property deals.

“It's not without risk, but neither is buy to let; but at least with P2P your interest rate and income level can be fixed from the outset, plus it comes without all the red tape issues and headaches associated with being a landlord” he says.