There are 2.5m homes in the private rented sector, of which 400,000 were financed by buy-to-let mortgages, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.. After working his box-office magic with William Shakespeare, Sir Kenneth Branagh is turning his attention to opera. He said: “In contrast, property speculators buy and sell quickly, are price-inflation driven, have no real interest in tenants and should not be given access to buy-to-let mortgages.”The latest Arla survey of the market shows that the average weighted rental return on a house is down from 5.1 per cent to 5 per cent since June. You may get a let or two but the competition is fierce, so don’t bank on it. Holiday homes in the UK are not buy-to-let either, nor are rooms for sale in a hotel.John Heron, chairman of the Arla Buy to Let Panel and managing director of Paragon Mortgages, warned that buy-to-let involved a long-term commitment to tenants that was not dependent on house-price inflation.
Buy to let is about fair returns and quality accommodation, not get-rich-quick schemes.”The Costa del Sol is a forest of cranes and new building, Mr Jordan said, because the phrase “buy-to-let” is incorrectly being used to sell holiday homes. “Letting these properties is, at best, a way of subsidising holidays. Sometimes these propositions include a guaranteed rent, but the public should be aware that these guarantees are no more than a delayed discount and no guarantee of the real rent that can be achieved, or that the property can be let at all. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the plums are soft and lightly coloured Serve with clotted cream, cr? fra?e or ice cream..
As signs multiply that the buy-to-let market is crumbling, leaders of Britain’s letting agents warned this week that investors are being sidetracked into unsuitable deals involving holiday homes and speculative buying off-plan. Add the egg gradually until well mixed then fold in the flour and ground almonds.If you want individual tarts cut the pastry into 4 rectangles measuring about 9cm x 12cm For one large tart, the pastry should be 30cm x 12cm. Place the pastry on a baking tray then spread on the almond paste, leaving a 1/2-cm border round the edge.Halve the plums and remove the stones and cut them into wedges about 1cm thick. Arrange them on the pastry and scatter over the caster sugar. To make the almond paste, cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with a wooden spoon, or in a mixing machine. You can make up these tarts in advance if you are doing a dinner party and just slice the plums and add them an hour or so before.
About 250g puff pastry, rolled to about 1/3cm thick 8 large red plums 2tbsp caster sugarfor the almond paste30g butter, preferably unsalted, softened 30g caster sugar 1 small egg, beaten 15g plain flour 50g ground almondsPre-heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. If you’ve missed the Victoria plum season then there are other varieties to choose from, including damsons, greengages and imported Cape plums.
