The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) is urging buy-to-let investors to exercise caution when investing in new property for rental purposes, in order to avoid financial difficulty in the long run.

ARLA stresses that investors should do the necessary research before committing to a property, despite reports highlighting increased rental incomes that may suggest that the investment is fairly straightforward. Investors are advised to research local markets and find out about demand trends in specific, local areas. In this way, maximum returns can be aimed for and potentially costly mistakes avoided.

Malcolm Harrison, ARLA spokesperson, said: “You’ve got to be careful when you make any investment. You’ve got to check what the local market is all about and what they want.”

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that the UK’s buy-to-let market remains buoyant into 2007, reflected by an increase in buy-to-let mortgage uptake.