Speaking at the Buy to Let Market Forum 2015 at Villa Park today, head of intermediary distribution, Robert Barnard (pictured), said brokers could develop their buy-to-let business by making themselves ‘specialists’ in their region.
Barnard explained that intermediaries could encourage customers to explore alternative loan-to-value options and properties in different regions in order to secure a better deal.
“I believe if you make yourself a specialist in buy to let in a particular suburb then I think that gives you a really good start. I think you can do it by knowing your area, knowing your estate agents, knowing your rental yields and knowing the hotspots,” he said.
“So if a client comes and talks to you about this two bedroom semi they want to buy as a buy to let, then don’t be afraid to challenge them. If you think they can get a better opportunity by looking at another part of the town then don’t be afraid to do that, know your area and know your rental yields. But also know all the lenders that are available to you and your clients, because as people grow portfolios, they have to look at different lenders because people get exhausted with the amount of deals you can have.”
Barnard added that with a rising number of new, specialist lenders joining the market, it was getting much easier to place complex buy-to-let deals.
“Don’t just look for those vanilla buy to lets. I think there’s some really good opportunities in the complex buy-to-let spaces and don’t be afraid to raise them with your clients. Things like houses in multiple occupancies (HMOs) and limited companies – we’re not tax experts but it might be advantageous sometimes to look at limited companies for an SPV [special purpose vehicle] and multiple flats on one title.
“These sort of things now are as simple to place as the vanilla cases that I can help you with. There are many lenders and specialist distributors that can help with all those complex and specialist buy-to-let deals, so don’t be afraid to look at them,” he concluded.
