By Will Stevens

Property isn’t as safe as houses anymore...

There was once a time when buy-to-let was the crown jewel of your investment portfolio, but that has changed. Investing in buy-to-let properties was often regarded as a bit of a ‘no-brainer’.

Property is as safe as houses, after all. It’s quite hard to turn down an appreciating asset that also gives you a healthy monthly income.

However, whether you own one extra home or several, investors have slowly started to feel that this type of asset simply isn’t quite what it was.

While it’s hard to pin down a specific tipping point, the choice to invest in property is an increasingly challenging decision.

Ultimately, why would you take on the burden of property when you’ve got a low fee, capital gains-free Stock & Shares ISA that, right about now, might just be on one of the healthiest upwards streaks you’ve ever seen?

Death by a thousand papercuts

Stamp Duty was first introduced back in 1694, and has therefore been a ball and chain on the housing market since we were quite literally using ball and chains.

This was amplified in April 2016 when the 3% surcharge was brought in on purchases of additional residential properties. This was ramped up to 5% for non-UK residents, further impacting some buy-to-let........

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