Mortgage News
Kensington withdraws 85% BTL and 90% residential deals
Kensington will withdraw its range of buy-to-let products available up to 85% LTV and its 90% LTV residential loans from tonight.
The lender increased its buy-to-let LTV to 85% in February and launched its tranche of 90% LTV products for first-time and second-time buyers in May.
A spokesman for Kensington said that because August had been a record month for business, it has reached the end of its current tranches.
“We’ve had a record breaking month in August, lending more than in any other month since our return to the intermediary mortgage market in 2009 and continuing the strong growth we have seen in 2011.
“As a consequence, we are nearing the end of current tranches on certain products and, in order to maintain consistency of service for our intermediaries, we are temporarily withdrawing these products from our range. We are already working on new products with great rates and criteria that we expect to launch shortly.”
Kensington added that it would still be offering 80% LTV on its buy-to-let deals and 85% LTV on its residential range.
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Meanwhile, the Post Office has announced the withdrawal of its entire range of buy-to-let mortgages.
The lender said it has pulled out of the buy-to-let market for the short to medium term in order to focus its efforts on helping first-time buyers, movers and remortgage customers.
It previously offered eight different buy-to-let products across 65%, 75% and 80% LTVs.
The Post Office has also made changes to its residential mortgage range by cutting rates by up to 1.24%, bringing its five-year fix at 90% LTV below 5%.
This product now has a rate of 4.99% , down from 6.15%, and comes with a £995 fee.
The lender has also reduced the rate on its three-year fix at 90% LTV from 5.99% to 4.75%, which comes with a £995 fee.
Mike Cook, head of mortgages at the Post Office, said: “Many of the five-year fixes that are heavily advertised are only for borrowers with a large deposit, which excludes many first-time buyers or those moving up the property ladder.
“If you only have a 10% deposit, our 4.99% five-year fixed rate offers excellent value, and protects borrowers from any potential bank base rate rises.”