Unencumbered rental properties present a big opportunity for brokers to grow buy to let business, says financial specialist Brightstar.

In a video interview with Andrew Cappaert of Brightstar Group, Sam Debenham – senior business development manager at Paragon Bank – says: “Roughly 63% of private rental sector properties are unencumbered. That doesn’t mean that all 63% are going to refinance their portfolio to buy new properties, but there is a huge opportunity here for those landlords who are looking to acquire more stock.”

The pair also talk about the trend for landlords to reassess and restructure their portfolio to deliver bigger yields

Debenham comments: “Some landlords are really analysing their portfolios and looking at the investment property they hold. This helps them to see where they could make improvements, perhaps targeting higher yielding properties.

“HMOs are the obvious example. There’s an old-fashioned perception of them being big ugly buildings and not very nice places to live but week in week out, we see some fantastic HMOs – really high-quality properties. Landlords are trying to be creative when looking at HMO conversions to ensure they attract the highest possible rent.

“Another strategy is to target properties that need improvement, which can provide capital appreciation as well as increased rent. Semi commercial properties offer another option – and considering whether they rent it out as it is or convert to residential dwellings. So, there are lots of options for landlords.”

During the video, the pair also discuss the growing trend of product transfers in buy to let, with Debenham saying: “Over the past year, I’ve heard more about product switches and the number of brokers who are involved in product switches. Half of our product switches last year were done by brokers, and of those, 41% were done by different intermediaries, which is really surprising.”

The full video discussion is available to watch now here.