Foundation Home Loans: Over half of landlords do not use a tax adviser

Research collected by BVA BDRC also shows that 40% of landlords use a tax adviser at least once a year, while 7% use one less than this.

Foundation Home Loans: Over half of landlords do not use a tax adviser

Over half of landlords do not use the service of a tax adviser, according to Foundation Home Loans.

Research collected by BVA BDRC also shows that 40% of landlords use a tax adviser at least once a year, while 7% use one less than this.

Identifying how a landlord found their tax adviser, 42% said they had been recommended one by a friend, colleague or another landlord.

However, just 3% had found their chosen tax adviser by a recommendation from their mortgage broker.

The data outlines that 40% of landlords believe their mortgage costs will increase in the future, 47% said they felt their repayments would remain the same, and 13% highlighted that they thought it would decline.

Furthermore, the research shows that 22% of landlords intend to reduce the number of portfolios they hold.

Meanwhile, the number of landlords planning to increase the quantity of properties they hold was recorded at 13%.

Of those landlords who said they want to add to their portfolio over the next 12-months, 55% intend to do so through a limited company vehicle, 30% plan to as an individual, 8% said that it would depend on the circumstances, 7% would buy in the name of their partner, and 5% plan to use other means when purchasing.

The research was carried out in January 2020, with the results based on 791 online interviews.

Jeff Knight, director of marketing at Foundation Home Loans, said: “Having specialist tax advice should, in our opinion, be a non-negotiable for landlords before they make any decision about what type of mortgage they need, and how they are going to own and finance their properties going forward.

“Advisory firms clearly have a role to play in this and, it is surprising to see so few landlords saying they chose their tax adviser on the basis of their adviser’s recommendation.

“An introductory arrangement can work for all concerned - advice firm, tax adviser and client - and should help provide clarity on the tax position and, subsequently, the mortgage advice.

“It is also interesting to hear that large numbers of landlords believe their mortgage costs are destined to rise in 2020, especially when we have such a highly-competitive mortgage market.

“It’s therefore vitally important that advisers put themselves in the shop window, not just for those landlords who would naturally use their services, but the many who seem more inclined not to take advice.”