Buy-to-let landlords risk being left out of pocket as they fail to do simple checks | Mail Online

Buy-to-let landlords risk being left out of pocket as they fail to do simple checks | Mail Online
Would-be landlords risk being left tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket because they are piling in to a buy-to-let boom without doing proper research.

Banks are issuing the largest number of landlord loans since records began. One in eight home loans — around 1.5million — are for rental properties, according to watchdog the Financial Services Authority.

Borrowers with big deposits are turning to buy-to-let to protect their nest eggs from plummeting savings rates.

Many are attracted by the promise of high returns, driven by demand from the growing number of families who struggle to get a mortgage of their own.

But experts say many of these would-be landlords are failing to complete even the simplest checks before making the plunge and they risk seeing the value of their investment fall.