It is not hard to see why investors were so keen on the buy-to-let
market. In the 10 years since buy to let has become fashionable, investing in
residential property has been a sure fire way to earn an income and capital.

Thousands of calls to the helpline have come from people in debt that
have bought newly built urban apartments in the North of England, where
prices have been plummeting by up to 70 per cent. In particular, buy-to-let
investors have been attracted to new-build blocks eager to get rich quick
from the property boom. The problem now is that many fear they paid vastly
over the odds and cannot rent them. Flats in certain developments in areas
such as Manchester, Newcastle and East London have also fallen in value by
40-50 per cent.

The problem is identified most to those that caught on "late in the day".
These amateur investors are now being exposed to a housing crash mainly
fuelled by a drop in mortgage products on offer.

With rental yields hitting a five-year low and interest rates expected,
the wannabe property tycoon is experiencing a painful squeeze, especially if
they have been tempted into the market by a heavily discounted mortgage
that's reverting to a variable rate.

Richard Sorsky, the money advice co-coordinator of The UK Insolvency
Helpline, said, "In the past it was almost all amateur people in employment
looking to become property investors, however, since the credit crunch
started we are seeing a big increase in professionals property businesses and
house builders companies coming to seek help. They have just been pushed over
the edge and now can't cope with their outgoings."

Many of the people seeking help from The UK Insolvency Helpline had used
equity in their homes to pay for deposits on buy to let mortgages. In some
cases people are running up huge credit card debts to cover the loss on the
rental incomes from the properties. As fixed-rate mortgage terms came to an
end and the cost of living increased, many people are finding it hard to meet
repayments, even if they earned a relatively good salary from their jobs.
Many of the clients struggling to meet their debts are opting for an
Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)
(http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/paye-employed/the-iva-procedure.php ) to
avoid bankruptcy.
IVA as a solution to clear debt (
http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/paye-employed/the-iva-procedure.php )

The IVA is a common legal route for anyone to take who has an unsecured
debt over GBP 15,000 that they cannot afford to pay. Introduced in the mid
1980s, IVAs have become very popular among those with high levels of
unsecured debt. An IVA stands for Individual Voluntary Arrangement, and this
is a binding contract made between the borrower and his or her creditors with
regards to repayment of a debt.

Notes for editors:

1. The UK Insolvency Helpline receives over 500,000 calls and emails a
year via it freephone number +44(0)800-074-6918 and website
http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk

2. The UK Insolvency Helpline is a national telephone helpline for people
with debt problems in England, Scotland and Wales. The service is free,
confidential and independent. The service has existed since 1986and was set
up in conjunction with the credit and insolvency industry. The free service
provides self-help advice to its callers and also produces written self-help
packs and factsheets to back this up. The service can also assist callers
with the setting up of IVA, bankruptcy and debt Management plans.


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