Inform 22nd July 2022

Following the Virtual Deposit Unlock LSL event on Wednesday 20th July, thank you to everyone who attended.

In case you missed it Craig Hall, Director, New Homes Financial Services, LSL Financial Services would like to offer you the opportunity to watch the recorded version of the event. This event will help you understand multiple changes and initiatives that are available to prospective buyers, so join a virtual session to help you stay well informed and able to advise your customers accordingly.

The Deposit Unlock private scheme is already live in the market and it is essential that you understand it. Steven Rance (Managing Partner) and Freddie Scarratt (Director, Mortgage Solutions) will be sharing their expertise on how you can utilise this scheme with both your housebuilder connections and helping your first time buyer customers onto the property ladder.

Click here to watch the full event.

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We’re pleased to share the launch of new case tracking functionality for property valuations and signpost future changes that we’re working towards relating to lending on properties with cladding.

Valuation status updates now available in case tracking

Your feedback has told us you need greater clarity over the status of a valuation and we are pleased to confirm that you are now able to access this information within our case tracking tool which is accessible from the my case section on the homepage of the Barclays intermediary HUB.

Moving forward, as well as being able to access speedy updates on other questions relating to a submitted application, you are now able to get real time confirmation of when the valuation appointment has been booked and then again when the valuation has been completed, removing the need for you to contact us for updates.

Login to the Barclays intermediary HUB to access the case tracking tool today

Our commitment to lend on properties with cladding

You may have seen recent reports in the media on the latest developments relating to lending on properties with fire safety defects, outlining that six lenders, including Barclays, have committed to lend on properties with cladding that are entitled to Government funding to fix existing fire safety faults.

We are delighted to confirm our support to this group of customers who have, until now, been unable to sell or buy an impacted property. We’re currently working through the updates needed to meet this commitment and we look forward to sharing more detail in due course.

Our Buy to Let mortgages are available on a Let to Buy basis to help your clients who are converting their existing residence to a Buy to Let and raising capital to help fund their new residential purchase.

To do this we need the following information:

• Address and purchase price of the new property
• Amount of the new mortgage and monthly payment
• A breakdown of how the loan is being used for example, deposit/fees /improvements.

How can we help your clients?

There are two ways to calculate your client’s affordability for our Buy to Let mortgages:

• ICR – this uses your client’s rental income, no minimum income is required. Rental income must be at least 145% of the monthly interest due, this is calculated at a stress rate of 5.25% for a 5 year fixed rate or 5.5% for less than 5 years.
• Top Slicing – this boosts the amount your client can borrow by using a combination of rental income and their personal income. Rental income must be at least 100% of the monthly interest due using the same stress rates as above. Minimum household income is £40,000 and the minimum property value is £100,000.

Use our simple affordability calculator to see how much your client could borrow.

Buy to Let criteria at a glance:

• Maximum LTV 75%
• Must be a residential homeowner
• Maximum portfolio size of 3 UK Buy to Let mortgages per applicant (either solely, jointly or in a Limited Company) across all lenders to a maximum of £2,000,000
• Maximum individual loan amount is £750,000
• All Buy to Let properties must have an EPC available with a rating of A-E
• Green Buy to Let products available on properties with an EPC rating of A-C.

View our Buy to Let lending criteria for more detail.

To find out more about how our Buy to Let solutions could help your clients, speak to your BDM today.

Commercial mortgages can prove an ideal choice for clients looking to borrow against existing property or when purchasing a new property. They can be used for a range of properties including shops with or without flats above, warehouses and pubs.

As master brokers, Vantage Finance are experts in finding your clients the right mortgage for their needs.

Benefits of commercial mortgages with Vantage Finance?

• Loans start at £25,000 with no maximum amount
• Interest-only finance available in some instances
• Available for both trading business (owner-occupied) and commercial investment
• We accept applications from businesses with just a year’s trading history
• Adverse credit considered
• Our lending panel spans across high street banks, challenger banks, specialist lenders and the private banking space

Let Vantage to help you achieve commercial finance for your clients. Contact the team to find out more about commercial mortgages with Vantage Finance:

T: 01753 883195
E: enquiries@vantagefinance.co.uk
W: https://www.vantagefinance.co.uk/contact-us

As we continue our mission to provide excellent customer service, we have introduced a more detailed submission checklist to support brokers when packaging cases for us.

You are given the option to submit a part pack to the mortgage desk who will provide an update the same day, or a full pack directly to underwriting for a same day update if received before 1pm.

We hope that the new checklist will reduce the level of day 1 requests from underwriting, as well as providing criteria prompts for brokers newly accredited with Central Trust, as well as established partners.

To download the updated submission checklist, please click here.

If you have any questions please call the mortgage desk on 0800 980 6086 or alternatively email us at mortgagedesk@centraltrust.co.uk

Increasing property prices coupled with charges to taxation for BTLs, safety measures and tenants’ rights means, that landlords are increasingly needing to be more strategic with their approach. One such route that is providing popular amongst landlord is HMOs (Homes in Multiple Occupation).

In our newly launched Landlord Hub, we have created a beginner’s guide to HMOs, looking at the benefits of HMOs over traditional buy-to-lets.

Read the article in full here.

How can West One help to fund your client’s HMOs?

• Available for first-time and experienced landlords
• Products for licensed HMO properties up to 10 bedrooms
• Available for UK based and expat landlords, through limited company SPV or personal names
• No minimum income – earned income must be declared and sufficient to cover lifestyle
• Students lets accepted
• Corporate lets accepted
• If a license has been applied for at point for application, we can look to lend on an unlicensed property
• No additional rate loading for limited company applications
• Specialist underwriting on all applications

For more information about purchasing or refinancing a HMO with West One or to simply make an enquiry please contact your BDM or the broker support team on 0333 123 4556 or email btlbrokersupport@westoneloans.co.uk.

From 18th July we are updating our login process for our quote system, OLPC.

What’s Changing?

We are implementing a new two stage authentication process, called Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This facility provides a security code either via text (if the adviser has a work mobile) or email, to confirm their identity to access OLPC.

Upon first login to OLPC, the adviser will be asked to update their existing password to a minimum of 12 characters, input their date of birth and check the details we currently hold on file.

MFA allows for:

• Enhanced security for the users profile and of course customer data
• Easy password reset via self-service without having to call us
• Improved adviser registration processes to register any additional advisers or administrators easily and quicky

Should you have any questions, please click here to find out more.

We’ve been working hard to make sure we have the right policies in place for those who’re just out of reach of home ownership due to affordability, achieve their goals of getting on the property ladder.

We see the potential in every specialist case and look to provide your clients with handcrafted mortgage solutions. That’s why we can now consider shared ownership applications with sub 25% shares on a case-by-case basis, giving your clients more flexibility.

With a focus on the ‘Social’ aspect of OSB Group’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda, this offering was designed with inflation and the rising cost of living in mind when considering your client’s opportunity of buying their own home.

Liza Campion, Head of Corporate Accounts and New Build, Kent Reliance for Intermediaries says: “It’s really positive news that we’ve launched into the sub 25% share space for shared ownership. This shows our dedication to the industry as we’ve identified the need for lower shares has been growing, and for them to enter at the early stages of the product change, really will open up homeownership to so many.”

Considered features across our Kent Reliance for Intermediaries shared ownership range includes:

• Up to 100% share value accepted
• £1m maximum loan
• £50,000 minimum loan
• £125,000 minimum property value
• Unsecured credit not counted but subject to full underwrite

Our dual-branded business development managers could individually support your first-time buyers with their needs including shared ownership or new build, all in one place.

To find out more, speak with your local business development manager, call our broker liaison team on 01634 888 276 or contact us via Live Chat.

If you have a customer who is Self-employed and works in the Construction Industry, it’s always best to double check if they are on the CIS Scheme.

Here is why:

• We only require that the CIS Contractor be on the CIS scheme for 3 months (or 6 months if FTB). Some high street lenders require the CIS Contractor to be on the scheme for 2 years minimum.
• When working our affordability, please add up the last 3 months payslips (or last 12 weekly payslips), then divide that figure by 3, then times by 12, giving you the average annualised figure and put this is in the basic salary box on the DIP. This can sometimes work out higher than using the self-employed Net profit figure.
• When you are using the average annualised income as above, please key the CIS contractor as PAYE Employed onto our DIP system, not as self-employed or a contractor.
• We offer residential mortgages up to 90% LTV for CIS contractors with low credit score. Some high street lenders need a 999 score.

Click here to sign up for more updates like these.

One day to review applications? See what we can do for you

It’s a great time to get in touch with us about your next specialist buy to let or residential case.

Currently, our new applications are being reviewed within 1 day and the wait time for a underwriter to review once all requirements (including valuation) are met is also 1 day for buy to let and 4 days for residential.

Click here to get the full update.

Our quicker service is thanks to our strong underwriting team and structure allowing us to maintain service at high levels.

We welcome you to take advantage of our service timings, so, if you have a specialist mortgage case, now is the time to place it with us.

With Kensington Mortgages’ innovation and recent updates, we wanted to give you an overview of the key details of their product and criteria, to help you find the best solution for your clients.

Download Kensington’s KSP guide.

At Manor Mortgage we offer a three tier referral service saving you time, and offering you a high success rate of competitive lenders.

We recently picked up a case who was a landlord setting up a new Ltd Company SPV which included his children as shareholders so they could benefit from the property ownership in the future. They wanted to purchase an Ex-Local Authority Flat with deck access in North London which had a good rental yield.

Our solutions for this was simple. By using a 5 year fixed rate with one of our lenders we were able to get them the loan size they were looking for at 80% LTV and it was all completed in a timeframe that suited them.

Find out how our three tiers of service can help your difficult and time-consuming cases, or simply help processing.

Mortgage Brain have relaunched their Lender Service Report, enabling mortgage advisers a single view of service levels of lenders throughout the industry.

The report collates a mixture of data supplied directly to Mortgage Brain by lenders, and information from their websites.

Mortgage Brain aggregates this data into one report, updated weekly, to support the whole of the market. Having all this information in one easily accessible place will mean advisers can quickly get a snapshot of the state of service levels without having to visit multiple websites or making time-consuming telephone calls. This information will provide more transparency between lenders and brokers, enabling them to better manage customer expectations.

For lenders, the report gives the opportunity to gauge how their service levels compare with those of other lenders, giving them valuable insight on how their business is performing.

The new report will be available to access quickly through a dedicated page on the Mortgage Brain website, with two separate reports available each week. One for residential, and one for buy-to-let.

You can find the latest Lender Service Report here.

Neil Wyatt, sales and marketing director at Mortgage Brain said: “The whole market is under immense pressure right now, we want to support brokers and lenders and the Lender Service Report does just that. Advisers have all the information they need in one place, saving them from visiting multiple lender websites or making time-consuming phone calls. And lenders can benefit too by being better informed as to how their service levels rank against the rest of the market. This can only be good for all parties.”