BuyToLet Mortgage advice in my case please?

crazyvish

Dear Experts,
We (I and my Mrs) are looking to buy a property to let (worth £192K). Below is our current situation/standing:
- I own a Limited Company trading IT solutions
- I am a higher rate tax payer
- My wife works for my company with a minimum salary (£8500) and dividends which make upto £44000 an year.
- We own a house but it is solely on my name. My wife's name is not not included on the house we live in.
- We would like to buy another one or two more buytolet properties in the future.
My questions:
- Can we purchase the new property in my wife's name?
- Will she be treated as a first time buyer and exempted from stamp duty?
- Which is better in the longer run, buying it as an individual or open a new limited company and buy through the company?
- Can my wife be sole a owner/director of the new ltd company and still receive a good mortgage rate?
- If buying solely, I believe we will be paying 25% deposit from our personal savings which has already been taxed.
- If we open a new limited company solely for buytolet purpose, can I invest/issue loan from my IT company?

Any responses will be highly regarded and your time on this is very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

K_S

@crazyvish Quick thoughts -

- Assuming your wife has at least a 20% shareholding in your company, both you and her will be treated as self-employed for mortgage purposes. 

- Impossible to say what's better in the long term as it depends on your particular circumstances, future plans, tax environment, etc. But my clients in your position looking to build a portfolio usually choose to invest through a limited co.

- Yes, in principle you can open a ltd. co. SPV , make an intercompany loan from your trading co to your SPV and use it as a deposit. It's quite common to do it this way. Not all lenders will consider, but there are competitive ones that will.

Needless to say, for authoritative advice on the above, you need to speak to a property accountant.