Given the recent turmoil in the world of mortgages and the property market you may assume that now isn’t the time to invest in a furnished buy to let property and let out to tenants, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

Actually there’s plenty of reasons why, if your circumstances are right, it might be a good time to buy.

It’s harder than ever to get a mortgage – That’s good news for the rental market; the harder it is for first time buyers to get on the property ladder the more buoyant it is for landlords. The high levels of deposits required by mortgage lenders means that many people are remaining in rented accommodation despite the reductions in the cost of buying a home. This means if you do have the cash or equity for a deposit on a buy to let you can take advantage of the current situation.

The rental market hasn’t been flooded – The explosion in specific buy to let mortgages meant every man and his dog dabbled in property investment. This was good to bring new blood into the industry but it did mean in many towns and cities there was more property than there was really demand for which made it harder to keep your rental property occupied all year round. As many people have had to tighten their belt and sell their rental property you are more likely to have fewer people to compete against.

Property prices are the most affordable they’ve been in a decade – If you don’t already own a buy to let property, the fall in prices is great news. If you had to pay over the odds for a property in the past, it was much harder to make a good return on your investment without pricing yourself out of the market. The fall in prices gives you a bit more slack even if rental prices have remained fairly static in your area.

Maintenance costs are potentially more manageable – Lots of skilled workers are currently unemployed or not fully booked. That means if you need to purchase work from self employed craftsmen you may be able to pay a bit less than you would have a while ago or if the cost hasn’t changed there is a good chance you won’t need to wait as long as you did previously.

You can negotiate harder with letting agents – There are very few who have been hit harder by the property crash than the estate agents, many of whom provided letting services. They have had to look to the rental market to stay afloat. Shop around as you may be able to save significantly on letting agent fees.

Like any major financial decision you should take plenty of advice but there are certainly some compelling arguments for why now isn’t as bad a time to invest in a buy to let property as some people may believe.

Most letting agents agree that furnished properties can help to maximise the likelihood of landlords increasing buy to let rental incomes.  So finding a reliable landlord furniture company can be invaluable in ensuring your buy to let property stays rented and your property investment delivers a good and regular return.

As a buy to let furniture specialist, Buy to Let Furnishings are often asked by landlords, lettings agencies and property management companies to recommend other buy to let suppliers, websites and services.

So to save your precious time, we thought we’d gather the 5 best free landlord advice sites and resources that we’ve come across and provide them for you in a handy list…

1. Residential Landlord

Residential Landlord is the one stop source for information and advice for residential landlords. Their aim is to help their visitors become the best informed property investors in the market. FREE to access, content includes news and features; links to sources of information from Government and other agencies, and updates on latest buy to let mortgage offers; auction dates and new property developments.

Their Ask Sharon ‘agony column’ tackles some of the trickier questions, giving down to earth practical advice on a host of common and not-so-common questions. Plus the busy landlord forums buzz with daily exchanges on topics ranging from plumbing to taxation, worn carpets to possession.

http://www.residentiallandlord.co.uk

2. Landlord Expert

Landlord Expert is the only FREE to join national landlord association. One of only two national associations set-up to help landlords all over the UK. Landlord Expert is the only landlord association to offer free telephone support from exprienced and professional staff.

All other associations, including the only other national association, charge the landlord money for this service.

http://www.landlordexpert.co.uk

3. Landlord Zone

Landlord Zone is an online community, a portal for landlords involved in letting property – novice and experienced alike. It provides free access to information, resources and suppliers of value to residential and commercial landlords, tenants, letting agents, property managers and other property professionals.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk

4. Property Investment Project

A popular and highly entertaining property investment blog, written by a guy whose original plan was to blog about his first steps into investing in buy to let property and becoming a landlord. Which having since completed that task on the 2nd of March 2007, now continues to indulge himself by writing (and ranting) about the ups and downs of being a landlord and his other property related projects, with the ultimate goal of increasing his portfolio and becoming a property millionaire.

http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk

5. Property Hawk

Property Hawk is a site developed by Landlords for Landlords. The primary aim is to make work life simpler and more flexible for their landlord users through the provision of FREE content and landlord software. Their software gives landlords the ability to log their financial and management data, as well as calculate their tax liabilities. The site incorporates a landlord magazine, news feed, links, online book, calculators, bookshop created specifically for UK Residential Landlords.

http://www.propertyhawk.co.uk

If you have found other free landlord advice websites, forums, resources and services available at zero cost to landlords, please feel free to add them to the comments below (please declare any interest and all comments will be moderated – thanks Buy to Let Furnishings).