The firm said trying to acquire bridging and buy-to-let (BTL) finance separately can take several months, but the bridge-to-let range will shorten time frames and allow aspiring landlords and seasoned property investors to buy and upgrade below-value properties.
Using the bridge-to-let function, customers will avoid double-application fees, paying a flat £495 bridge-to-let fee instead, and they save 0.5% on BTL arrangement fees.
There is no minimum term for the bridge product and if a buyer’s rental income is not sufficient for BTL finance, they can make up the difference with their personal monthly income, otherwise known as top slicing.
The BTL product, in conjunction with Islamic finance principles, offers co-ownership with leasing as opposed to interest. This means customers buy the property in partnership with Offa and make monthly payments to boost their share.
There is a minimum income of £18,000 per annum and a minimum property value of £80,000.
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Sagheer Malik, Offa’s group chief commercial officer and managing director of retail finance, said: “Speed is the crucial factor in real estate. Our ultra-quick bridge-to-let service is the first of its kind in this sector, allowing both Muslims and non-Muslims to save huge amounts of money, unlocking equity and providing wealth for their families. We are now offering faith-based finance products that not only outperform those of our competitors in Islamic finance but also those in conventional finance.”
Naseer Ahmed, Offa’s managing director of bridge finance, said: “By combining our teams’ decades of industry experience with the latest technology, we at Offa are on a mission to bring Islamic finance into the 21st century, leaving behind the onerous paperwork and cumbersome systems that many customers have typically had to suffer in the past.”
The firm recently purchased more than 350 home purchase plans from the Bank of Ireland, made up of Alburaq Sharia-compliant deals.
