I thought obtaining a buy to let would be easy, but that wasn’t the case. Fortunately, the work that I have done now should make the next mortgage applications much easier to get.

Expect to be asked for:

• 3 years SA302 Self Assesement
• 3 years Company Accounts
• 2 utility bills for proof of address
• passport
• Driving licence

I was surprised how difficult it was to get hold of utility bills, but as all of our bills are now found online, I did have problems. Online printouts don’t show your address, so I changed 2 of the bills to paper bills, and used them – this obviously took a few weeks extra.

SA302 – this is a record of your self assessment, and I was asked for 3 years worth. You can obtain this by calling the HMRC and they will send it out to you in the post. Even though self assessment deadline is Jan 31st of the following year, my morgage provider asked me for the latest SA302 in December. This meant I had to complete the self assessment and then request the SA302, adding another 3 weeks on to the application.

So so if you want a buy to let mortgage, make sure your company and personal accounts are in order.