The size of the buy-to-let mortgage sector has been pretty stable over the last couple of years at around £36 billion. However, IMLA is forecasting an optimistic £283 billion for the total amount of mortgage lending in 2021 and some industry pundits are predicting growth in the buy-to-let sector, perhaps beyond £40 billion.

There are certainly reasons to support the continued viability of buy-to-let property as an attractive investment strategy, particularly in the current economic environment. With interest rates at near zero and the unpredictability of the stock market, the yields associated with tangible bricks and mortar are a serious contender.

The buy-to-let mortgage sector may also see new interest among larger mainstream lenders looking to widen their propositions with products that provide a good margin, so specialist lenders may experience some additional competition for market share.

All of this bodes well for landlords as lenders are demonstrating an appetite for business, providing an increasing number of products to choose from and widening criteria options to suit most buy-to-let mortgage requirements.

Buy-to-let finance has never been a one size fits all product. Some lenders focus primarily on ‘vanilla’ cases, whilst others such as Paragon Mortgages, Zephyr Homeloans or Foundation Home Loans have a more specialist proposition. What it does mean is that landlords from an ever-widening demographic make up the population of property investors in the UK.

Certainly, age is no barrier to residential property investment. For older landlords, those approaching retirement age or beyond, there is a wide range of lenders and products to choose from catering for most finance needs. There are providers with a maximum age at application of 75, 80, 90 and some with no maximum age requirement at all.

Buy-to-let property may also become more popular among the younger demographic and most buy-to-let lenders have a minimum age of 18 or 21, providing other lending criteria is met. Career expectations for young adults have changed considerably in recent years and the pandemic has inspired many to set up their own business ventures during lockdown.

A recent poll for ISP GoDaddy showed that 1 in 10 people in the 16-24 age bracket had set up their own businesses during the last year, and 1 in 5 have developed concrete plans to start up a new venture. With such entrepreneurial spirit being demonstrated by the younger generation, could buy-to-let property be an attractive option for those aspiring to have a self-employed lifestyle?

Being able to work from anywhere, travel and set your own work schedule is a potential perk of being a landlord, although it does take time and commitment to build up a property portfolio that provides a suitable income to become a professional landlord.

For people looking for an alternative to pensions, buy-to-let property is a worthy consideration for medium to long term investment at any age. Buy-to-let property is also a leveraged investment, with lenders typically offering 75 per cent loan-to-value on their product ranges, which is another good reason for its popularity.

During the last 12 months, with household spending being curtailed by the pandemic, there has been the opportunity for some to save up significant sums of money, which could provide the deposit for a first buy-to-let property or portfolio expansion for those already in the market.

There is certainly plenty of opportunity in the buy-to-let sector for landlords, so there is reason to be optimistic about your prospects this year.

What a year and such a challenge in 2020; it’s hard to put into words exactly what the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been on our lives over the last 12 months. It has certainly brought a lot of change to our working lives and perhaps forced businesses to reassess some of the assumptions about best practices or develop new strategies for continuing to work effectively in a different set of circumstances.

From the perspective of a specialist in the buy-to-let mortgage market, the last year has highlighted the benefits to be gained by focusing on our technical capabilities and how improvements to our online processes can provide a more efficient service to customers. It also made us rethink our approach to team-working within the business.

To start with, everyone at Buy-to-let Direct was immediately asked to work from home at the beginning of the first lockdown in March. This was arranged remarkably quickly and without fuss, especially considering we have always been an office-based business. It meant that we all became remote workers and online conferencing took on a life of its own, with Microsoft Teams becoming our channel of choice.

Although this has required staff to adapt, it has also taught us new ways of communicating and allowed a more flexible approach to working, especially for those who have young children at home needing supervision during these unusual times.

Throughout the buy-to-let mortgage sector, we have seen an increase in the use of digital communications to maintain relationships between lenders, brokers and clients, which has highlighted the need for service providers to keep improving their online capabilities to meet the changing demands of customers.

In general, the demand for buy-to-let finance has remained high throughout the pandemic and once the housing market reopened after the initial shutdown, there has been a surge in buy-to-let mortgage business spurred on by the stamp duty holiday. Buy-to-let continues to be a viable investment opportunity, especially in a financial environment offering such low interest rates on savings.

During 2020, the continuing interest in limited company buy-to-let was apparent with a significant proportion of applications at Buy-to-let Direct being via a corporate entity. This is unsurprising given the buy-to-let mortgage interest tax relief was finally phased out in April 2020, and the high demand for limited company finance is likely to continue in 2021.

Coronavirus also brought an unexpected boon for the holiday let sector as more people opted for UK staycations and the demand soared for properties in popular resorts and other desirable locations. This has led to a wider range of products for investors to choose from as lenders have developed their propositions to service this niche sector.

It looks as though the uncertainty brought by Covid-19 in 2020 is likely to continue during the early part of 2021 and those working in the mortgage industry will have to remain flexible and open to change as we wait for situation to play out. However, there will be plenty of proactive ways to face the unknown challenges ahead and sometimes unexpected change can bring unexpected opportunities.

At Buy-to-let Direct, our main priority is maintaining good communications with our finance providers and landlord clients; harnessing technology to deliver a better service. We have also developed greater understanding of the challenges facing landlords, becoming better at empathising and looking for creative solutions to individual needs.

No doubt 2021 will be another interesting year in the buy-to-let sector and one that provides us with the opportunity to effect change – for the better.