Buy to let Property Competition
The main competition that you will face in the buy to let market will be other buy to let landlords and letting estate agents. It is always worth having a look at estate agents' windows and property websites regularly to assess the current rent levels and the types of property available.
There are many websites that have useful directories of property-related services, including estate agents and letting agents,. You can do a quick search on the major search engines to obtain further information.
Housing associations are beginning to offer more and more shared ownership schemes, where the tenants can purchase part of a property where they live. This is one area that is worth researching and checking whether such schemes operate in the areas where you plan to develop property.
The lenders are normally happy to attract first-time buyers with tempting mortgage deals. A good landlord will attempt to ensure that a tenant’s rent is lower than the cost of monthly mortgage repayments on similar properties to maintain occupancy.
You can use business directories such as Yellow Pages and Thomson to research letting agents and other potential competitors in your local area.