The latest wave of cuts to tax relief on landlords’ mortgage interest was ushered in last month with reports that landlords are exiting the buy-to-let sector.

However, many believe the death of buy-to-let has been greatly exaggerated.

Analysis by research consultancy BDRC – on behalf of specialist buy-to-let mortgage lender Together – revealed that profitability remains high, with 85% of landlords surveyed saying they were making money, while the average yield remained stable at 5.9%.

But what is obvious is that there’s a continuing demand for buy-to-let investors looking to make gains in the long term. It’s an exciting time for the market as it evolves, and we are seeing landlords – particularly those with larger portfolios – adapt to the changes.

However, some buy-to-let landlords are finding they can no longer finance their property portfolios with mainstream lenders when it comes to remortgaging, because of some banks’ stricter underwriting rules, and they are looking to specialist lenders who have more knowledge and expertise of this niche section of the mortgage market.

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In one recent case, we provided a £2.7m remortgage of more than 50 properties owned by an investor in Dumfries, Scotland. The customer has spent 20 years building his portfolio by snapping up properties at auction, refurbishing them and letting them to tenants within weeks.

Like thousands of other landlords up and down the UK, he has raised money through remortgaging his current portfolio, using the cash to buy up more residential houses and flats and commercial property, as well as land. 

In the past, he’d always secured funding through high street lenders to buy properties around Dumfries and Carlisle, Cumbria. However, more stringent underwriting rules have meant bank finance has been harder to come by in recent years.

After being unable to release the £2.7m he needed, the investor came to us through a broker. We looked closely at his previous experience as a landlord and our regional development director for Scotland, Steve Clark, visited his new offices. Following careful consideration of the customer’s situation, Together agreed to provide the funding needed to refinance the portfolio.

The customer was delighted at the speed and service we provided and he’s now looking to invest the funds to further grow his buy-to-let property portfolio.