Stocks and shares, gold, bonds…none of these can you ask the bank to lend you the money for it, and you don’t even need to pay down the balance of the loan. The bank will let you repay it in the future, providing you pay them the interest on the loan each month.

The way buy-to-let works is that you purchase a property on a freehold or leasehold basis, meaning as far as the land registry are concerned you are the legal owner of the property. Once you own it, you have a responsibility to maintain the property, service any loan repayments, and pay for utilities. However, once you own the property you can then rent it to a tenant for a period of time, usually a minimum of 6 months on an AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement), for a pre-agreed fixed rental figure. The income you receive should cover your loan repayments, cover any maintenance costs, cover any utility bills (usually the tenant is responsible for these), and give you some money left over at the end of each month.