Buying an Investment Property... Your Questions Answered

Q: I own two buy-to-let properties that I rent out and I want to increase the number of my investments. How easy is it to take the equity from an existing property to fund the deposits on others? Is there a maximum number of mortgages I can have at any time?

A: It is very easy to take equity from existing property. How much you can release is dependent on the value of your properties and the rent you charge. There is no maximum to the number of mortgages that you can have at any time, although you must make sure that you have planned for any eventuality such as maintenance, building work, solicitors' fees and stamp duty. I would recommend using My Property Hub's to guide you through the process.

Q: I keep on hearing that house prices may fall, but does this mean that buy-to-let is not as good an investment as it used to be?

A: Even in the peak of 1989 when some house prices dropped by 50 per cent in a year, most of these houses are now worth double the value they were at their peak pre-1989. In the current market, you could take advantage of the recent rises in house values by releasing cash from your current properties. This will enable you to move quickly and is key to securing a good price. Taking a long-term view, buy-to-let should continue to be a good investment.

Q: What's the best way of calculating my yield when I'm looking at buying property for investment?

A: The calculation for rental yield is the annual rent divided by the house price, multiplied by 100. This gives you yield as a percentage. The yield is then used in working out how much you can borrow as a mortgage. It is worth talking to My Property Hub each time you consider buying a property so that they can do the hard work with the figures for you.