As originally published in Financial Reporter.
Your Buy to Let clients will soon start to feel the financial impact of recent tax changes, as they submit their tax returns for 2017-2018 and this could trigger a conversation about how they can maximise the returns on their investment to counter the extra cost.
One way many landlords choose to increase their returns is buying a run-down property and renovating it to achieve a higher re-sale price or retaining the property and benefitting from increased rental income.
For first time investors in property refurbishment, the most straight forward approach is light refurbishment that doesn’t require planning permission or building regulations and so avoids some of the risks of more speculative property development. Light refurbishment renovations commonly include new bathroom, new kitchen, redecoration, rewiring, or new windows and a newly renovated property can increase the capital and rental value. A refurbished property can also help landlords to attract higher quality tenants and reduce long-term maintenance costs.
Often, the properties that provide the best opportunity for refurbishment, even light refurbishment, are in a condition that makes them effectively unmortgageable, and there is a growing number of lenders that offer flexible short-term lending options to fund property renovation.
A common concern amongst landlords investing in property refurbishment is whether they will be able to refinance to a longer-term solution at the end of their refurb loan. But some lenders are able to offer both the short-term finance and a longer-term solution once the renovations have been completed.
This can provide your clients with the peace of mind in knowing that they have fully prepared their finance at the outset, which can benefit experienced refurb landlords as well as first-time investors.