This activity was evident in the Q1 2024 Pegasus Insight Landlord Trends research report which showed that four in 10 landlords are likely to remortgage or opt for a product transfer this year. Within this, 49% said they had one mortgage to refinance, 24% had two, 11% had three, 7% had four, while 9% said they had over five mortgages due for refinance in the next 12 months.
When asked how they had arranged their most recent buy-to-let mortgage, 68% said they had done so via a mortgage adviser – this was higher at 72% for those with over four buy-to-let mortgages – while 26% had arranged it directly with a lender, 3% had done so via an online broker or a robo-advice platform, while 1% had used a comparison website.
In terms of how they intended to fund any future purchase, multiple answers were allowed, with 48% responding that they would use a buy-to-let mortgage, 38% said they would purchase it outright, 38% would release equity from existing properties, while 15% said they would use funds drawn down from a pension pot.
Faced with the question of whether they had a rate preference, a slight majority of respondents suggested a two-year fix, while close to a third said they didn’t know at this stage or would take advice closer to the time.
This data presents a real opportunity for advisers in the buy-to-let space, not least because a significant minority are still opting to go direct to their lender, rather than review what is available across the entire market. Plus, a number clearly still think they are getting ‘advice’ in doing this, rather than simply choosing from a pre-selected array of lender-provided product options.
Of course, the PT offer might well be the most suitable for the landlord at that time, but there are clear benefits in taking advice from a professional, independent adviser, especially given we are operating in such a competitive market and there may be other more suitable, cheaper product options available to them.
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