74% of respondents said that they had heard about the new rules to be introduced in 2006. Although it claims that the Treasury has so far failed to communicate sufficient information to property investors. Only 29.2% of landlords consider themselves fully up to speed with the Treasury’s plans, and while 44.6% had heard that changes were going to take place, a quarter had heard nothing at all.
Despite the requirement for more detail 70% of respondents either had firm intentions or would consider putting at least one property into a self invested pension. 26.2% said they currently had no plans to put property into a SIPP.
When asked how many properties they would ideally like to hold in a SIPP 55% of respondents said between two and five. 16% said they would like to hold more than five properties in a SIPP, suggesting that the SIPPs market could become a very important vehicle for buy-to-let investors.
Nicola Severn, Marketing Manager at Mortgage Trust, concludes: "With the new rules due in just a few months, investors are eager for the Treasury to produce the details needed in order to plan properly. Despite a level of awareness that SIPPs are coming, landlords are not yet in a position to fully consider the advantages. We believe that as more detail gradually emerges, the appetite among landlords will grow. Mortgage Trust has teamed up with SIPPs provider James Hay to make it as easy as possible to allow landlords to invest in residential property through a pension plan."
