Lender tenacity gave rise to dynamic product changes in April – Armstrong

This month has seen a vast swathe of rate reductions across the board, with lenders reacting to the market volatility.

With such an active market in terms of repricing, I’ve chosen to focus this month on other product and criteria changes that have been announced from a whole host of lenders within both the buy to let (BTL) and specialist residential markets – and there have been plenty of those to keep us on our toes.

Let’s take a look. 

BTL

Coventry for Intermediaries launched its limited company BTL proposition this week. Designed to support brokers with landlord clients who choose to hold their properties in a company structure, the products are available for both remortgage and purchase cases.

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Coventry will accept up to four directors/shareholders named on an application and offer a conveyancing panel of over 200 solicitors. Maximum lending exposure has been increased from £2m to £2.5m, landlords can have seven properties with the mutual and the total portfolio limit has been expanded to 15 properties.

Buckinghamshire Building Society has reintroduced two-year discounted products across its Everyday BTL and Everyday Expat BTL ranges to offer brokers more flexibility. Available products are a two-year discounted rate up to 80% loan to value (LTV) in the Everyday BTL range, priced at 5.39%, and a two-year discounted rate up to 75% in the expat range, priced at 5.59%.

Both are available for loans between £50,000 and £500,000 and carry a product fee of £1,195.

Aldermore announced various new products across its BTL and residential owner-occupier ranges. For individual and company landlords with single residential investment properties, these include a limited-edition two-year fixed priced at 3.59% and a five-year fixed at 4.69%, both available up to 75% LTV with a 5% fee. The changes include BTL products up to 80% LTV and options for individual and company landlords with houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and multi-unit freehold portfolios.

Vida Homeloans introduced an automated valuation model (AVM) for both BTL and residential cases to speed up decisions and provide greater certainty for brokers. The AVM will apply to cases up to £500,000 or 75% LTV, while applications above this will still undergo a physical valuation.

The Mortgage Works (TMW) refreshed its criteria for company landlords following feedback from brokers and their clients. All limited company mortgage applicants previously had to be directors, but the lender will now accept applications where one applicant is only a shareholder who owns at least 20% of the shares in the company.

In a move to support landlords and developers looking for tailored, high-value funding, Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has increased its maximum lending from £25m to £35m across its specialist mortgages and development finance units. The lender is seeing an increase in substantial portfolio cases and this latest change gives it more capacity to support these transactions.

Specialist residential 

Precise announced enhancements to its residential criteria this month. LTVs are now available up to 95% and maximum loan sizes have been increased to £5m. Both 90% and 95% LTV products are available on Tiers 0, 1, 2 and 3.

In a bid to assist with ongoing affordability issues in the market, Precise has also reduced stress rates as low as 1.25%. Standard two-year fixed products at 95% LTV in Tier 0 start from 6.34% with a £1,495 product fee and five-year products at 95% LTV begin from 6.44% with a £1,495 product fee. 

April Mortgages has made two key improvements to its proposition this month; seven times loan to income (LTI) is now available for all buyer types, including first-time buyers and homemovers. This applies to 10- and 15-year products only up to 85% LTV for households with an income of £50,000 or above.

The lender is now offering the choice of interest only up to 60% LTV or part interest-only and part capital and interest (C&I) to 75% LTV. This is subject to £200,000 minimum equity (£300,000 within London) and a minimum household income of £75,000. 

Suffolk Building Society launched its 90% LTV expat residential range, up from 80%. The lender has also made some cuts to 80% LTV expat residential products. The new 90% LTV expat range features a two-year discount C&I product at 5.79% (SVR minus 2.35%), a two-year fixed C&I at 5.90% and a five-year fixed C&I at 5.79%.

Mansfield Building Society has announced updates designed to offer greater flexibility on cases such as debt consolidation, credit repair and later life lending. It has returned its maximum LTV for debt consolidation to 90% to open up more opportunities for homeowners looking to manage their finances through remortgaging. Gifted deposits are now accepted on credit repair cases and downsizing criteria have been standardised across the UK with a minimum equity requirement of £200,000, regardless of location.

That’s all for now. See you next month for another round-up of the mortgage market’s changes.