Aldermore upgrades BTL range for private landlords

The firm changed its rates to 3.18% for 70% loan to value (LTV) mortgages of up to £1m and 3.25% on 75% LTV loans of up to £600,000.

The rates are available to private individuals on purchases and remortgages of single residential properties starting from a minimum loan of £25,000.

The loans will incur an additional product fee of 1.50% and an application fee of £199.

Group managing director Charles Haresnape (pictured) said Aldermore had continued to see strong growth in the buy-to-let space in recent months, despite political and regulatory changes affecting the sector. He said the firm wanted to support borrowers with its new rates.

He said: “The rush to beat the Stamp Duty deadline meant that there were 8% more new properties advertised to rent in the second quarter of this year when compared to the year earlier, and the underlying fundamentals of the buy-to-let market remain strong.

“As a specialist lender, we understand the needs of our customers. Through the changes we’ve made today we will continue to support landlords by updating our product range to suit them.”

Buy-to-let landlords have been on the government’s radar in recent years, as it sought to free up more houses for homebuyers. To this end it introduced a 3% premium Stamp Duty on second homes in April.

It also announced plans to cut the tax relief currently afforded to private landlords by gradually reducing it from its current rate of 45% to 20% from April 2017.

Early indications suggested private landlords were rushing towards forming limited companies as a result of the changes, as these will not be affected by the cut.

Aldermore’s results for the first half of the year showed the firm had benefitted from a dramatic upswing in buy-to-let lending but had seen a decline in residential mortgages.

Buy-to-let lending had increased to £519m in the period from £298m in the same period last year, while loans to residential borrowers suffered a downturn of 14% to £243m.