As with other lenders it has made the adjustment to accommodate a lack of in-person valuations in response to government Covid-19 restrictions.
It has also had to restrict the types of properties it will lend on, temporarily removing houses in multiple occupations (HMOs), multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFBs), new builds and apartment buildings with more than six storeys from its criteria.
The Sharia-compliant lender will be using desktop valuations to accommodate these applications and the initial rental rates for all buy-to-let products at 65 per cent finance to value (FTV) remain unchanged.
Gatehouse also said it would consider applications higher than 65 per cent FTV, but these would have to remain on hold until in-person valuations could resume.
Existing applications for deals over 65 per cent FTV which have not yet received a valuation will be put on hold until these can be completed, and the lender will contact these clients.
Previous home purchase limits stood at 80 per cent FTV for UK residents and UK expats, and 75 per cent FTV for international residents. On buy-to-let it was 80 per cent FTV for UK residents, UK expats and international residents.
Like other lenders, Gatehouse is offering a three-month payment holiday for borrowers facing difficulties during these unprecedented times.
Plan to broaden offering
Charles Haresnape, CEO at Gatehouse Bank (pictured), said: “These are clearly challenging times, as it is not possible for standard valuations to be carried out, due to social-distancing.
“We have had to make changes to our products in order to continue to support homebuyers and landlords.
“We hope these changes will only need to be in place for a short period of time and plan to broaden our proposition, as soon as it is possible to access standard valuations.”
He added that the bank was working hard to support existing customers with suitable payment strategies and payment holidays of up to three months if required.
