Buy to let mortgage brokers are increasingly working with new BTL landlords as interest in the private rental sector grows, says one online search specialist.
According to Knowledge Bank, buy to let brokers are searching for the criteria from lenders for their buy to let products.
And, for the tenth month in a row, the term 'first time landlord' has been among the brokers' top searches.
Knowledge Bank says that the search term shows that investors who would normally look to buy stocks and shares are now increasingly paying attention to a buy to let investment.
The firm's operations director, Matthew Corker, said: "The UK's rental market is receiving a lot of interest and this is perhaps the result of stock market volatility due to the pandemic with investors turning to what they may see as being a safe investment."
First-time landlord interest
He added that over the past year house prices have been rising, along with rental property interest which will be helping to fuel the first-time landlord interest.
The firm is predicting this trend for brokers helping first time landlords to continue - particularly after the government announced that they would back 95% loan to mortgages.
The search criteria specialist also found that there may be a big surge in the number of landlords looking to borrow money to refurbish a property or inject capital into their business.
That's because the search term 'second charge loan' has re-entered the top five of the most used terms being used in the bridging sector since October last year.
The managing director of Accommodation for Students, Simon Thompson, said: "We have been saying for a long time that the future for the buy to let sector is a good one and news that first time landlords are increasingly interested in investing is welcome."
Landlords warned about growing pet numbers
Meanwhile, one inventory specialist is warning landlords that they need to spot the early signs of any pet damage to their property with a planned change in the rules.
The country's largest provider of inventory services, No Letting Go, says that demand for tenancies will rise as the government makes it easier for tenants to keep pets.
The firm's chief executive, Nick Lyons, said: "Landlords and agents will need to have measures in place for dealing with the increased risk of damage to their property.
"Allowing tenants to keep pets, if managed effectively, can encourage longer tenancies and boost demand for available properties with higher average rents."
