Beware buy to let baloney

Two articles in the Observer today, which you can read here and here show that there are still people out there making money out of other people's greed. Companies such as those featured in the articles, feed off people's desire to get 'something for nothing' and willingness to believe that they can have this with buy-to-let properties.

However although there is no doubt that some people have made huge sums from buy to let, these are invariably people who have done an enormous amount of homework on investing and the property market, and really know what they are doing. It is very easy to go horribly wrong if you buy the wrong property, and one buy-to-let investment course (however expensive it is) will not necessary prevent this happening.

Plus with the new regulations coming into force on houses in multiple occupation, landlords who let to more than two unrelated tenants will have to comply with more onerous management duties from 6 April, and if their property has more than two storeys (including habitable attics and basements) may need to get a license from their Local Authority or face fines of up to £20,000.