David Lawrenson, a landlord and property commentator, (pictured) said worries about interest-only mortgages are having an impact on the BTL sector as well.
He told Mortgage Solutions that in one case, he was turned down by a lender who had previously given him a mortgage, despite producing around seventy documents as evidence of his financial credibility.
He had also heard of cases where landlords of twenty years were similarly rejected. “In terms of my own experience lenders are certainly choosier.”
This offered an opportunity for brokers, he said, since they understood the lenders’ criteria and could advise on what details were important.
Eddie Weissman, a broker at Mortgage Angels, said that lenders had become more nervous about landlords with a large portfolio. “They do not want liability on their books.”
He said that brokers had an advantage when it came to BTL mortgages.
“One thing I think you will find is the lenders do not push their landlord products online in the same way residential lenders exploit the channel. They are not pushing buy-to-let online at all.”
