The lenders, which are both part of One Savings Bank (OSB), have increased the maximum loan size and maximum property value they will accept to £525,000 and £750,000 respectively.
OSB also published its first quarter results which showed it completed a combined £1.5bn of mortgage lending between January and March.
It noted that take-up levels of mortgage payment holidays have been high with around 24,000 borrowers accounting for 27 per cent of its book by value taking a pause.
However, it added that many people requesting payment holidays were doing so “to prudently safeguard cashflow” and that demand has dropped significantly since the initial surge.
And market research among buy-to-let landlords conducted on behalf of OSB indicates that rents are still being received, with only 12-15 per cent of landlords who have requested a payment holiday giving the reason as tenants having stopped paying rent.
Continuing product extensions
The product moves are the latest step as the lenders evolve their offerings after being forced to halt lending in March as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Last month they recommenced lending up to a maximum 60 per cent LTV on property values between £75,000 and £600,000 a maximum loan size of £360,000.
Earlier this week Precise relaunched its bridging and second charge mortgage ranges supported by automated valuation models (AVMs) at up to 50 per cent LTV.
And yesterday Interbay Commercial resumed buy-to-let lending with a range of products using desktop valuations up to 70 per cent LTV.
The lenders noted that for brokers already with eligible pipeline cases at pre-offer stage, they may be able to switch the product if desired.
They will also consider reducing loan amounts on existing applications to meet the 70 per cent LTV limit.
When switching a product, any fees that can be refunded will be done so when the application reaches formal offer.
Supporting pipeline cases
OSB managing director Alan Cleary (pictured) said the lender’s teams had been working hard to ensure they had the infrastructure in place to best support broker partners and their customers.
“During this time we have focused our resource on supporting pipeline cases first before opening up for new business across our various product lines,” he said.
“The great news is that from today, Precise Mortgages, Kent Reliance for Intermediaries and InterBay Commercial are officially resuming business and taking on new cases.
“Our broker relationships remain absolutely key and we’re committed to continuing to provide specialist lending solutions during these challenging times.”
OSB CEO Andy Golding added that he was extremely proud of the resilience the firm had demonstrated in the current difficult conditions.
“We entered the crisis with exceptionally strong capital and liquidity positions which allowed us to rapidly assist those concerned about potential financial difficulty by offering payment holidays on a self-certified basis,” he said.
“We demonstrated our flexibility by redeploying our employees to meet the large increase in call volumes.
“We started the year with a strong pipeline of new business and continue to lend to new and existing customers, prudently and with a reduced suite of products. We have enhanced our underwriting to accept desktop valuations due to the inability to perform physical valuations at present.”
