Break time for property investment

Property investors have had a bad press in some quarters. During the boom years they were blamed by some for the rising cost of homes, arguing that by buying houses they were denying them to first-time buyers. Those defending the industry said that the sort of residences first-time buyers usually go for are different from the target market for landlords, but the mud stuck in the minds of some.

Since then, the attitude of many has been to treat residential landlords as failures, due to the perception that such ventures were simply a feature of the rapid market growth earlier this decade and that the end of the boom means the end of buy-to-let as a viable proposition.

Yet such negative attitudes are unjustified and should change, according to John Fitzsimons in a recent lovemoney.com article. He said: "We need a strong rental sector...our blase attitude towards the plight of landlords is not a good thing. Too often we overlook the fact that a strong rental sector is essential. Home-ownership is not a right, nor is it right for everyone." He added that a strong private sector helps take pressure off state provision.

For this reason, Mr Fitzsimons continued, he wished to see a version of the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme introduced for buy-to-let landlords.

Such a view was welcomed by National Landlords Association David Salusbury, who commented: "The bigger picture is of a rental sector which is growing and making an ever-more important contribution to the overall housing mix. The UK needs a strong rental sector and this article makes a clear case for offering landlords sufficient space to try and deal with their financial problems. By moving quickly to repossess properties owned by buy-to-let borrowers, the problems of pressure on social housing and increased homelessness will not go away."

Whether such an appeal will lead to government action is uncertain, but a wider recognition of the value of buy-to-let may well help investors get a better deal. With an election and a possible change of government less than a year away, there may be a new chance to influence future policy.

In the meantime, it may be those investors who stick to the maxim that the long term is the period over which money should be made who do best.

Extra support for this approach may come from Timothy Lambert, head of consulting at property firm Ducalian. He said: "If we are not at the bottom already, we are not far off it (six months maximum). However, it must be noted that whilst we are getting to the bottom, values will not rise fast.

"We are looking at between three and five years for values to rise - you are not going to make a fast profit in property today."

So once more, it seems that - with or without government help - the best move is to look beyond the near future.