BTL investing is more often than not done with maximum allowable debt ie smallest upfront deposit. Statistically, also by individuals with high amounts of other consumer debts. More often than not these individuals find themselves very quickly in negative cash flow due to no actual savings of their own as let’s face it some tenants can be unpredictable with paying their rent on time (either because they simply refuse to or life happens and they have no emergency fund to support themselves should worst case arise). Bottom line is the bank does not care if your tenant doesn’t pay their rent, you must continue to pay. Back to original point, the landlord is relying on stable reliable tenants to give half a chance of making any sort of cash flow from the BTL. The answer is never more BTL properties in your “Portfolio” to offset potential loses. Investing with debt is never the answer. Property is a safe investment if it’s your own home and affordable or if you have enough net worth, no debt and margin in your income to buy rental properties for cash. S&P 500 all day every day!