What the papers said about landlords and the housing market

There was some good news for experienced landlords this week, with the Times reporting that The Mortgage Works (the Buy to Let arm of Nationwide Building Society) is removing its upper age limit for those who have owned and let a Buy to Let property for at least 6 months. The change in criteria takes place on 18th April, after which there will be no maximum age at application or redemption for landlords borrowing up to 65% loan-to-value. Options for older borrowers within the market are generally quite limited, so this news was welcomed by experts. The lender says they are responding to “increasing market demand”, with the number of experienced landlords growing, and ageing. The Observer looked at the housing market, and in particular a recent report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) which revealed that buyer demand and new instructions from sellers were down to their lowest numbers for 5 years. We are now entering what is traditionally a peak time for buying and selling, but uncertainty over Brexit has had a marked impact on activity levels, and the report suggests this is likely to continue.