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Buy-to-let market remains positive despite constant repricing – Armstrong

by: Cat Armstrong, Mortgage Club Director, Dynamo for Intermediaries
  • 04/07/2022
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Buy-to-let market remains positive despite constant repricing – Armstrong
June has been a funny old month for the buy-to-let sector. Rising swap rates and a series of hikes in the Bank of England base rate have led to the vast majority of lenders undergoing some degree of repricing, generally upwards. This is no secret and it should certainly come as no surprise.

To collate and chart this repricing is a tall order and – let’s be honest – it would make for some pretty boring and somewhat depressing reading for intermediaries and their landlord clients. And I like to focus on the positives.

Thankfully, there remains far more positive than negative sentiment across the buy-to-let marketplace even in the face of escalating headline rates.

The most prominent being an exciting new entrant in the form of specialist property finance lender MT Finance, which comes after securing investment from J.P. Morgan.

The lender says the investment from J.P. Morgan in future buy-to-let mortgage originations “significantly enhances its existing lending platform through diversification into the term lending market”.

The launch into buy to let follows the introduction of a regulated bridging product in 2020 and will be followed by further new products in the coming 12 months.

In another progressive move, Central Trust extended the availability of its consumer buy-to-let mortgage proposition into Northern Ireland.

 

Changes to buy-to-let criteria

From a criteria perspective, Keystone Property Finance increased its maximum loan to value (LTV) to 85 per cent for the first time. The lender’s new 85 per cent LTV loans are available on its standard core range and come in two, five and seven-year fixed rate options.

The two-year fixed rate is priced at 4.79 per cent, whereas the five and seven-year fixed rate are priced at 4.99 per cent and 5.19 per cent, respectively. All three products are available on loans of between £50,000 and £500,000.

In a slight departure from the buy-to-let market, but worth highlighting for those intermediaries with landlord or developer clients, United Trust Bank enhanced its heavy refurbishment product offering, with slightly differing criteria depending upon the borrower’s level of experience.

Heavy refurbishment projects include, for example, significant conversions and extensions and change of use from commercial to residential and houses of multiple occupation (HMO).

Light refurbishment projects continue to be catered for on the bank’s standard residential bridging product.

For experienced property developers, who can show evidence of two recent successful projects, rates start from 0.59 per cent per month with a maximum LTV of 75 per cent and a maximum 75 per cent total loan to gross development value (LTGDV). For inexperienced borrowers, rates start at 0.74 per cent up to 70 per cent LTV and 70 per cent total LTGDV.

Finally, a quick nod to Accord Mortgages who have been working hard over the past six months on its relaunch to enhance its proposition across a variety of areas, including being able to offer up to 80 per cent LTV, including to first-time landlords, portfolio landlords and those looking to let to buy, all available in England, Wales and Scotland.

As you can see, there remain many talking points across the buy-to-let sector and with robust levels of demand still evident, these will continue to emerge over the summer months.

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