23-11-2007
New calls for regulation of buy-to-let
News by Adfero for Simply Business - independent providers of business insurance, business finance, landlord insurance, buy-to-let mortgages & commercial mortgages.
Buy-to-let property investments have face form of regulation, it has been claimed.
Reports by Reuters confirm that a number of Britain's mortgage brokers think the buy-to-let sector should face some form of regulation, rather than maintaining the current status quo.
At present, residential buy-to-let investments are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as they are considered to be a business activity of a professional nature.
"I am surprised that the FSA has not given guidance to buy-to-let mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders on what it expects them to disclose in respect to likely investment returns," Lee Grandin, managing director of Landlord Mortgages, told Reuters.
Indeed, Mr Grandin went further, expressing concern that the buy-to-let investors most at risk were those who lacked experience and had aspirations of becoming millionaires on the back of their investments.
In news that may reassure novice buy-to-let property investors, the deputy governor of the Bank of England Rachel Lomax has announced that the Bank's monetary policy committee is remaining alert to any performance risks to the UK economy.