Property news: Affordable mortgages and buy-to-let

Buy-to-let investors cash in on rental demand
Restricted mortgage lending and soaring demand for rental properties is continuing to push up rents and profits for buy-to-let investors, according to a new survey.

Mortgages for Business said demand remained strong for the buy-to-let sector as a whole, with investors enjoying higher yields than in other asset classes. The number of mortgage products available has also risen by 48 per cent since the start of 2011. Read more on this story

Mortgages most affordable in a decade
We’re officially rolling in it. New figures have revealed that some of the cheapest mortgage deals of all time have contributed to a plummeting of monthly mortgage payments – which means they are more affordable now than they have been any time in the last ten years.

So what’s happening, and how can we take advantage of this situation? Read more on this story

HSBC introduces ‘approved solicitors panel’ for conveyancing
Homebuyers who take a mortgage from HSBC will be forced to use one of a panel of 43 firms chosen by the bank to do their legal work, or face paying more for their conveyancing, after a change in the lender’s rules.

Previously, customers could choose their own legal representation and the firm would act for HSBC too. However, following warnings over mortgage fraud from the National Fraud Authority, which puts the cost to the industry at £1bn a year, and an instruction from the Financial Services Authority telling lenders they need to know the firms they work with better, HSBC has announced this will no longer be an option. Read more on this story