In sharp contrast to the experiences of many landlords in recent years we are delighted to note the emergence of the new lender Shawbrook within the buy to let residential marketplace.

I ask Karen Bennett just why have Shawbrook decided to now openly promote themselves and their products to property investor-landlords?

"The property investor market is seeing strong and steady growth and Shawbrook has a real appetite to lend in the sector and increase our market share," replies Karen. "By 2016, Savills & Rightmove have predicted that one in five households will be living in rented accommodation. There remain significant opportunities in the market for property investors to grow their portfolios, but too many still face a barrier that is becoming all too common: securing funding.

"Property investors are being increasingly marginalised by the big banks with this funding gap down to larger banks focusing more on trading business and cross-selling. A growing number of property professionals are being asked by their banks to re-finance their loans, despite solid credit histories and long-term relationships with their lender. We believe we have a key role to play in offering investors more choice in their borrowing, and we have big ambitions to grow our share of the market."

So how do you see the outlook for residential investment over the next 3-5 years?