Castle Trust announced it had “reached the conclusion” that its range has too many options and as a result made the decision to withdraw its buy-to-let equity loan. The lender says the product has been much less popular than its other equity loan product – the Index Profit Share (IPS) which uses the Halifax House Price Index to calculate returns.
It has also enhanced its online calculators with brokers now able to use them when applying for terms between two and five years for the Flex 24 product.
Elsewhere BM Solutions announced it will no longer accept foreign currency income for new mortgage lending. This applies to all new customers applying for a buy-to-let or let-to-buy mortgage or remortgage. BM says the change does not apply to existing customers.
The lender has also been tinkering with its policy for HMOs.
It says properties subject to Local Authority HMO licensing may be acceptable, subject to the valuer’s assessment of suitability based on a number of requirements including a maximum of five unrelated tenants. Large properties, where there are more than five rooms to let, in an area where letting arrangements are predominantly multiple-tenancy, are still not accepted.
Meanwhile Woolwich says all buy-to-let applications are now subject to full affordability assessments. Buy-to-lets are being stress tested so the rent needs to be added so the case doesn’t fail affordability.
Finally, NatWest Intermediary Solutions has announced changes to its buy-to-let criteria which, it says, will significantly widen its appeal. Primarily targeting non-professional landlords in the past, the lender has announced it will lift its previous restrictions to allow applications from professional landlords. This means landlords who get more than 30% of their income from rental properties are now able to apply for mortgages through NatWest. The lender has also removed it maximum loan limit of £500,000.
