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The number of private homes in England that have been empty long-term has risen to a five-year high – talk to your mortgage broker about increasing your portfolio while prices and demand are low.

A new survey from Halifax shows that the number of long-term empty private homes exceeded 300,000 in 2008, the first time it has reached this amount in five years. This was a rise of 9% from 279,281 in April 2007 and the highest figure since April 2003. The total number of empty private homes in England that have been vacant for less than six months stood at 613,270 in April 2008.

These numbers were calculated by Halifax last year, so by now there are probably even more homes that are not being lived due to increases in repossessions. While this is sad for all those who have had to be repossessed, for those looking to grow their rental business, these empty homes could be the bargain they were looking for.

The bank also found that there is a clear north/south divide – the North West has the highest number of long-term empty private homes, accounting for 22% of the total across England. So for northern landlords, there could be even more opportunities to buy up a cheap property.

A good buy-to-let landlord is always on the look-out to make their business work even more efficiently – and there is nothing more efficient than using profits from one buy-to-let property to invest in another, cheap buy-to-let property.

If you are lucky enough to be in the position to be able to get hold of another property, talk to your mortgage adviser before you make any definite decisions. They can help you assess your current situation, look at your earning potentials and tell you what type of loans are out there on the market that could help you take advantage of some great, cheap property bargains.

SOURCE: Halifax, 21/11/09

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