Pressure grows for buy-to-let regulations

BUY-to-let, once regarded by some investors as a sure-fire way to make money, has seen its fortunes suffer in recent times.

Rosemary Gallagher, The Scotsman - 24 November 2007

Only this week, Paragon, the UK’s third-biggest buy-to-let mortgage firm, admitted it was facing funding uncertainties as a result of its costs spiralling on the back of the credit crunch sparked by the US subprime crisis. This concession alarmed investors and its share price fell by more than a third on Wednesday.

At the same time, landlords are struggling to make a decent income, with rental increases failing to keep pace with recent interest rate rises.

The uncertainty in the market has led some commentators to call for buy-to-let to be regulated by the Financial Services Market which oversees the residential mortgage market - full article