Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has widened its specialist buy-to-let (BTL) criteria to offer more support to first-time landlords and properties using modern methods of construction (MMCs).
HTB will consider any type of MMC as security as long as it is approved by the Buildoffsite Property Assurance Scheme (BOPAS).
The criteria change was “driven by feedback from intermediaries” who said that clients were facing affordability challenges.
HTB will accept applications from non-homeowning first-time landlords with an income of £60,000 per year.
The maximum loan size for a first-time landlord is £500,000 and allows for a portfolio of up to four units.
HTB will also need to be satisfied that the applicant is not intending to live in the property.
Andrea Glasgow (pictured), sales director of specialist mortgages at HTB, said: “At HTB, we’re not one for sitting on our hands. When brokers speak, we listen. We recognise that we’re in a key position to influence the quality of the nation’s housing stock through our lending decisions.
“And, alongside increasing support for the next generation of property investors, we are helping to positively shape the future of the investor market.”
HTB recently added a flexible tracker product for investors, which is available across BTL and semi-commercial ranges.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.