WEBINARS ON DEMAND
BLOGS
UPCOMING EVENTS
ROYAL LONDON
What’s on the menu?
FLEET MORTGAGES
Who are Fleet Mortgages? BTL case studies
JUST
Making it personal
CLYDESDALE BANK
In the spotlight
HODGE
It’s time we stopped calling Later Life, well Later Life
TMA Club
The age-old question for brokers
AMI
Looking head in 2022
Virtual Protection Workshop
Date: Friday 18th March at 10am -12:30pm
CPD: 2.5 hours
Click here to register.
Face to Face Workshops
The dates and locations for these events are below.
5th April – The Village Hotel Watford
6th April – The Village Hotel Edinburgh
7th April – The Village Hotel Solihull
Bluestone Mortgages
Are your contractor customers finding it hard to get a mortgage? We can help!
Did you know? In the UK, 1 in 3 applicants have been rejected for at least one mortgage application they have submitted in the last 5 years.
Contractors are a largely underserved group of workers by high street lenders, which is why we wanted to show how we can help you with those cases that may have landed on your desk.
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To find out more about how we can help with your contractor customers, call us on 0800 368 1833, request a callback or check your cases on Bluelink.
Bluestone Mortgages
Foundation Home Loans
How will your landlord clients meet the cost of the role of the EPC regulations?
Our latest BVA BDRC Landlord Panel research for Q4 2021 discovered that around 4 in 10 rental properties currently have an EPC rating of ‘D’ or lower. This number was said to be relatively consistent across all portfolio sizes, indicating a large number of properties will need to have work done in the coming years if new legislation is introduced as expected.
West One
The Role of Specialist Finance in the 2022 Remortgage Boom
2022 presents an unmissable opportunity for brokers, as a significant number of existing Residential and Buy-to-let clients reach the end of their current mortgage deal in the next few months. CACI Data has estimated there is a loan value of £119.57bn up for remortgage between January and June this year.
In 2017 new underwriting standards were introduced by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) drawing a greater attraction to 5-year fixed-rate lending in the BTL market. As a result, there was a significant increase in the number of mortgages taken out over that term. As these 5-year fixed term mortgages begin to come to an end brokers have an opportunity to support their clients and generate additional business.
Fears of further base rate rises from the Bank of England could also drive borrowers to remortgage, as they rush to lock in currently available low rates. In November 2021, the approvals for remortgages, with new lenders alone, rose to 44,500, the highest number since before the pandemic according to Bank of England data.
To maximise the opportunity the remortgage market presents, brokers are going to increasingly need to look to specialist lenders for solutions that will meet the complex needs of their buy-to-let clients.
At West One, we lend on a wide variety of property types to a broad range of borrowers, whether borrowing in individual names or through a limited company. Our expert team are committed to delivering cases with speed and flexibility.
To find out more about our products and service please talk to a member of our broker support team on 0333 1234 556 or email btlbrokersupport@westoneloans.co.uk.
Lendinvest
What progress is being made to make limited company Buy-to-Lets easier?
As landlords continue to look to LTD Companies to organise their portfolios, our Sales Director has reviewed the current market to see what is happening to make incorporations easier.
Impact specialist Finance
Fast solutions for heavy refurbishment finance
Are your clients looking to renovate their property? If yes, have they considered Heavy Refurbishment Finance?
A heavy refurbishment loan is a short-term loan required for larger jobs that aren’t just cosmetic. This could involve, work that requires planning, is structural or that will result in a change of use to the property.
Impact SF has access to a comprehensive panel of bridging lenders. We have built strong relationships with these lenders who will take a view on all aspects of an individual case, including limited distribution lenders.
Access a faster bridging solution, call the Impact team on
01403 272625 or email bridging@impactsf.co.uk
Vantage Finance
Short-term finance solutions for self-employed borrowers
For the UK’s self-employed workers, attempts to secure finance via the high street can mean being confronted by strict eligibility rules and daunting application processes. Brokers can and should offer a better way forward: tailored guidance, along with the type of specialist mortgage and short-term finance offerings that reflect the circumstances of individual customers.
With this in mind, we take a closer look at self-employed borrowers, and at the categories of property finance solutions that are most likely to meet their needs.
If you have a question or a case, you would like to discuss then please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team.
T: 01753 883195
E: enquiries@vantagefinance.co.uk
Legal and General Protection
Striving for Financial Freedom for Women
This week has been international women’s day but the conversation around women shouldn’t stop there. We’ve been looking at financial resilience amongst female and why you should tailor the conversation around the value of protection for them at certain times.
When it comes to financial literacy and confidence, we explore how women are educated compared to their male counterpart along with how women become less financially resilient through their life course with relatively little savings to cushion – in fact, a third of women in their 30s say that their money wouldn’t even last a month if they lost their main source of income.
We also include some key insight from Hazel Johnston, our Market Development Manager, who shares her advice to women considering a career in the insurance industry.
Kent Reliance For Intermediaries
Are your case submissions in tip top condition?
Here at Kent Reliance for Intermediaries our underwriting team have years of experience under their belt and have a ‘look to lend’ mindset. As one of our partners, we want to support you in submitting your cases, so we can get the best outcome for the client.
We’ve also upgraded our broker portal to make it easier for you to submit applications to us.
Our checklist explains the minimum document requirements we need to make an initial underwriting decision. To enable us to underwrite your case as quickly as possible, please ensure you’ve uploaded the required items when you submit your application.
Here are some of our best tips to help you get the application right first time:
- Tell us a story. We’re humans too, and explaining any anomalies or conflicting/complex information helps us build the picture and validate the scenario. E.g. you could explain credit blips, gifted deposits, and multiple allowances on income etc.
- Avoid us having to generate an additional credit search. Check that the information you key into the system is correct E.g. spelling, details aren’t all in capitals etc.
- Check dates of birth – we’ve minimum/maximum age restrictions and this affects credit search results and incorrect dates of birth generate additional credit searches
- Check address history – we require a three-year address history; please ensure there are no gaps in the dates
- If the applicant is capital raising for debt consolidation, add these into the notes section of the application, so the underwriter assessing your case can ensure they don’t deduct commitments that are to be repaid
- Check the income keyed corresponds with the evidence you provide
- Key correct National Insurance numbers – incorrect numbers create a fraud alert against your client
- If we’ve already pre-agreed or discussed your case, please add a note confirming details of when it was agreed, and with whom
- Uploading documents – always make sure you’ve added the documents required – see our checklist as we can’t give you a firm decision without sight of the essential documents
If you have any questions, please speak to your senior business development manager or call 01634 835791 to speak to someone from our broker liaison team and we’ll work together to get the best outcome.
Login to our broker portal to start submitting your case today.
The Mortgage Lender
How to package the perfect mortgage case
Doing business with us shouldn’t be hard work.
It should be clear, quick and simple. Always. That’s why we’ve created ‘The lending lowdown’ – a series of helpful content that highlights how we do business and makes your life easier.
Key points include;
- Top tips for packaging your case for success
- How to provide bank statements
- How to provide proof of deposit
The Family Building Society
Got your landlords covered
Great news for your portfolio landlords! Limit removed to number of properties in a SPV.
Our Buy to Let Limited Company mortgages are now available to landlords with any amount of properties per company. This means that no matter how many properties your client has, we may be able to help.
How else can we help your Buy to Let clients?
- No minimum income
- No stress test on background properties held (just need to be self-financing)
- Maximum LTVs for BtL products now 70%
- Applications accepted up to age 89
- Expat cases accepted from over 40 countries, plus further countries through agreed packagers
- A common sense approach to lending with real human beings to underwrite each mortgage case.
Buy To Let Offset mortgage
Our BTL Offset mortgage can help to maximise returns for your landlord clients, allowing any savings to be offset against the mortgage. Landlords can opt for either:
- Payment reduction – offsetting savings to lower monthly payments
- Term reduction – monthly mortgage payments will remain the same, but offset savings go towards reducing the capital, reducing the mortgage balance faster.
Either way, a BTL Offset mortgage can help to increase your clients’ net profit and ultimately increase the overall cashflow they receive from letting.
Royal London
A 24/7 virtual GP service
Our enhanced Helping Hand service offers new customers who take out a menu plan, access to a range of online wellbeing services to help plan owners protect their mental and physical health.
We’ve chosen wellbeing partners that will really help make a difference to your clients’ lives. Our goal is to provide easy access to early care medical services, so clients have the help they need to stay fit and healthy and help stop small health issues becoming a big problem.
A 24/7 virtual GP service
One of the key early care services included with Helping Hand is access to a GP. Our partner, HealthHero, offers clients access virtual consultations by experienced, NHS practising doctors. Your clients can choose to speak to a GP 24/7 by phone, or face-to-face via video call, 8am-10pm, 7 days a week.
And it’s easy to use too. Once they’ve registered, clients can download the HealthHero app and book virtual appointments at a time that suits them – handy if they’re struggling to see their regular GP.
Helping Hand is a package of support services and each service is provided by third parties that aren’t regulated by either the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority. These services aren’t part of our terms and conditions and don’t form part of your insurance contract with us, so can be amended or withdrawn at any time. This means that you or your family’s access to these services could be amended or withdrawn by us in the future.
Crystal Specialist Finance
PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT
There is no doubt that since Permitted Development schemes were introduced in 2020, landlords and developers alike have enjoyed much more freedom in relation to property build and regeneration.
The additional rules of 2021 too, were hailed as a gamechanger by those who have been able to take full advantage of the commercial to residential change of use rights.
