Buy to let mortgages have become increasingly popular in the UK due to the boom in the housing market over the past number of years. People are seeing property more and more as long term investment - even as part of the their pension plan. You may be able to organise a larger mortgage than normal due to the fact that you intend to rent the property out to tenants and that traditionally rents (which will be used to pay the mortgage) are much higher than mortgage payments.
There are some important things to remember if you are considering buying to let. While many buy to let mortgages available offer the same choices as traditional mortgages, you can't take out a standard mortgage. You must make sure that you make your lender aware of the purpose of the mortgage and that you intend to let the property. If you don't, you will be breaking the terms of most standard mortgage contracts and the lender may sue you for breach of contract and you could lose the property. Remember to budget for the associated costs of being a landlord; lettings agent commissions, tax, insurance, maintenance and repairs.
