Brian Hall, consultant and author of a new buy-to-let index, does battle with industry heavyweights Peter Williams and John Wriglesworth over buy-to-let versus the first-time buyer.

SPECIAL FEATURE: The first-time buyer time bomb
The Model Works explains freezing out first-time buyers is creating a time bomb for the government.

Some advisers not qualified to consult on buy-to-let
Negative buy-to-let returns, the unregulated nature of the market and the tax treatment of property investment are just some of the reasons buy-to-let advisers should ideally be qualified investment advisers.

Mortgage brokers adrift with buy-to-let
The Model Works warns brokers must keep their wits about them when it comes to buy to let.

Comment: Buy-to-let and the housing time bomb
You might imagine that a new and objective indices that exposes serious inaccuracies in the buy-to-let data provided to the press might create a stir in the trade journals if not in the nationals but such an indices was launched by The Model Works a few weeks sans a seismic reaction.

Buy-to-Let may not be so rosy
Scores of buy-to-let investors are making losses or at best breaking even because of falling house prices and hidden costs, claims The Model Works.

Landlords experience 70% losses over five years
The Model Works new buy-to-let profitability index confirms that geared buy-to-let investors are experiencing losses on short term investments.

Time to overhaul buy-to-let
Private rental is flourishing but that does not mean everything in the garden is rosy.

BTL Indices Questioned
The Model Works claim indices leave out crucial data such as void periods, the cost of arrears, management charges and comparisons with investments other than property.

The Model Works Claims Indices Are Misleading
Brian Hall, founder of the Model Works, a new body to produce housing data hits out at existing indices from LSL Property Services and BM Solutions.

Accurate buy-to-let profitability index launched
The Model Works launches a new buy-to-let profitability index. This exposes the degree to which established industry indices are incomplete, inaccurate and biased.
About the Author
Brian Hall is a UK management consultant with 30 years experience of the financial services sector with banks, building societies, centralised lenders, distributors, technology providers and regulators.
About The Model Works
The Model Works is a side-project to explore the potential commercial value of Dynamics and this website is a repository for the deliverables.
Research has focused on homebuying first time buyer exclusion and the buy-to-let boom as these are complex issues that have enormous and far-reaching consequences.
About Dynamics
Unlike analysis which breaks things down into their component parts, Dynamics models the behaviour of the whole thing. It provides accurate and often unexpected results that offer insights, facilitate communication and deliver results.
Dynamics models are quick and easy to build. They are interactive and quantitative and can be used iteratively to allow solutions to the widest range of problem scenarios to be evaluated and unintended consequences to be identified.