"Despite what seems like a rough deal for private sector landlords there are definitely opportunities for savvy brokers to position themselves in a strong, supportive position."
It’s understandable that with changing budgets, comes a change in priorities – but what if there are multiple factors weighing in equal importance?
One priority to juggle is certainly the predicted EPC legislation changes.
The proposed changes suggest that properties must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C or above for new tenancies in the private rented sector by 2025, and ALL tenancies by 2028.
It has been argued by landlords, this comes too hard on the heels of the pandemic. For vast numbers who are trying to recoup the income losses during Covid, having to consider investing to upgrade their rental properties seems a huge and unwanted burden.
Cash is already tight, without the current economic strains on top.
Despite a hard deadline yet to be legislated, time will be a serious factor for landlords looking to not be penalised.
For example, a survey of over 600 landlords by Simply Business, found that a majority of 55% will need to make the improvements to their properties to enhance their energy efficiency.
Not only that, around 20% estimated that they’ll have to spend over £10,000, whilst 25% anticipated spending between £5,000 and £10,000 – an amount that many will need to factor into their future budgets.
What is surprising is that landlords do not appear to be considering the EPC refurb now, but are more worried about securing longer term fixed rates or releasing equity to buy more properties.
That’s why we’re asking: why not solve both?
Despite what seems like a rough deal for private sector landlords there are definitely opportunities for savvy brokers to position themselves in a strong, supportive position.
What many brokers and their landlord clients perhaps don’t realise, is they can solve multiple problems by securing more agreeable fixed rates which also allows them to plan effectively for the future.
Remortgaging onto a fixed rate inevitably means landlord clients can better budget to provide themselves with peace of mind during these increasingly uncertain times.
Now is a perfect time to capital raise and additionally take advantage of competitive rates with volatile swap rates and recent monetary policy ‘minutes’ suggesting there is only one way interest rates are going.
Current deals come with multiple incentives with cheaper interest rates being supplemented by no-upfront application fees and cashback deals.
It’s important for brokers to check exactly what their investor clients current deals are and if mortgage payments can be reduced by switching.
Speak to a specialist
There’s a reason that 2022 has been coined the year of the remortgage, with more than half of portfolio landlords expected to refinance this year.
For cases where there are large portfolios or even for cases where a landlord has been detrimentally impacted by adverse credit during the pandemic, working with a specialist can produce dividends.
A specialist will scan the entire market, helping navigate complex criteria, and can frequently provide access to exclusive or semi-exclusive buy-to-let products with the UK’s best specialist lenders.
Specialists will guide, secure lower interest rates, but also work to drive case completion. This service can be a gamechanger.
There’s no doubt that 2022 is placing enormous financial pressures on many. However, with specialist lenders offering helpful and attractive products, and the collaboration between financial institutions and Government, the cost of living crisis can be mitigated by expert advice for landlords.
