The firm will now consider lending to foreign nationals who are non-UK passport holders, living in or outside the UK and without indefinite leave to remain, with rates starting at 6.79 per cent.
The lender’s mortgages are also available to first-time buyers who don’t currently own a residential or buy-to-let property, with rates beginning at 6.09 per cent.
West One will consider lending on:
- Ex-local authority properties less than 50 per cent privately owned, up to 70 per cent loan to value (LTV), subject to the valuer’s comments.
- Investor-led properties up to 70 per cent LTV, subject to the valuer’s comments.
- Sub-let agreements up to 65 per cent LTV.
The lender will also lend to borrowers with no mortgage history, up to 75 per cent LTV.
This includes expats and foreign nationals, both up to 65 per cent LTV, although they must have a UK credit footprint and have owned a UK property for a minimum of 12 months.
Andrew Ferguson (pictured), managing director of buy-to-let at West One Loans, said: “We pride ourselves on having one of the most diverse and accommodating set of criteria in the market. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t constantly looking for areas to improve.
“Through regular discussions with brokers, we know there is significant demand for foreign national, first-time buyer, ex-local authority, investor-led and sub-let solutions – and so we have acted.
“We want brokers to know that if they have a case that’s out of the norm, we are always willing to have a discussion to see if we can make the deal work where overall credit quality is good.”
