Buy To Let Mortgages

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Buy To Let Mortgages have become popular over the last
few years with investors looking for an alternative form of investment to
the stock market or as an alternative to the traditional pension
scheme. They will enable you to buy a property for the explicit
purpose of letting it out and will typically be a second
mortgage. There are risks associated with buy to let schemes so
it is best to take advice before applying.
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With buy to let, expenses can be deducted from profits. Repairs and maintenance
are the biggest expense after mortgage interest payments.You can take off
expenses that prevent the property from deteriorating. Examples include
exterior and interior painting stone-cleaning, damp treatment, roof repairs,
furniture repairs and repairs to lifts and other machines that form part of the
property. You cannot deduct the cost of capital expenditure incurred on
improvements, additions and alterations to the property. Nor can you claim a
deduction for the cost of notional repairs that are no longer required as a
result of this capital expenditure. If you are in doubt whether any work on the
property is a repair or maintenance, ask your Inland Revenue office or tax
adviser.
Letting residential property can be a profitable business. Obtaining mortgages
and buying large properties in busy cities is one strategy that can work.
Plenty of single people who are not in a position to buy are looking for
short-term rental accomodation and may be willing to pay a high rent. Each
'bedroom' can be let separately or the entire house could be let to students.
Keep a rent book and keep good financial records including a record of mortgage
interest payments and receipts for any materials bought for property
repairs
Another area that should be considered before opting for buy to let mortgages is
valuation for tax purposes; The appropriate approach to be taken in any
particular case will depend upon a variety of factors, but we cannot be too
prescriptive as to the appropriate approach to be taken in any one case.
Valuers must use their judgement and experience to decide on the appropriate
cost effective approach on the balance of the facts available. It is important
not to lose sight of fundamentals, particularly for minority holdings in
property investment companies which are generally much more difficult to value
than control holdings.
One
area that affects buy to let is business taper relief; a business of
letting residential accommodation is not classified as a trade even though the
income tax profit from such a business is worked out in the same way as a
trade. Therefore, if you use the house in your property rental business it does
not normally qualify for BAT relief. This would also be the case if you carried
on this business in partnership. There are two main exceptions. Business assets
taper relief may be available if: you are letting furnished holiday
accommodation as a trade. Check with your tax office if you need to know what
counts as a furnished holiday letting business; or the property is let to a
qualifying company which uses it in its trade.