Where Have All The Buy-to-let Mortgages Gone?
It is undeniable that the buy-to-let mortgage market has considerably improved in the last 4 months, yet despite these clear improvements these deals are no where near the quality they were in 2007.
It is a catch-22: impressive 100% buy-to-let mortgages on properties valued £250,000 and above or restricted mortgage deals on properties that are discounted at 30%.
If I am honest I don’t know which market condition I most prefer. In an ideal world you would be able to get both: a strong buy-to-let mortgage on a property that has been thoroughly discounted.
However, despite these limitations, I have begun to notice a significant improvement in the direction these mortgage deals are moving in.
I was researching the other day on moneysupermarket.com and spotted some tempting buy-to-let deals that are seriously worth taking a look at:
Mortgage Works: offering an initial rate of 3.74% until 2011 (on a maximum LTV deal of 60%), after this date you can expect to pay a subsequent rate of 4.69%. And this is not bad considering that their arrangement fee is only 3.5% of the properties borrowing price.
BM Solutions: offering an initial rate of 4.1% for the next 2 years (on a maximum LTV deal of 60%), after this date you can expect to pay a subsequent rate of 3.99% as well as a minimum arrangement fee of 3%
*NOTE: to qualify for this deal your property must produce a rental income that covers 125% of the properties mortgage payments
Cheltenham & Gloucester: offering an initial rate of 4.69% until January 2013 (on a maximum LTV deal of 60%), after this date you can expect to pay a subsequent rate of only 2.5% (with a minimum arrangement fee of 2.5% of the properties borrowing price)
NatWest: offering an initial rate of 4.99% until December 2011 (on a maximum LTV deal of 75%), after this date you can expect to pay a subsequent rate of 4.5%.
However it is important to note that this is a variable rate and is subject to change, so you might not always be paying 4.5% month on month. The other down side is you can expect to pay £1,999 in arrangement fees
Lloyd’s TSB: offering an initial rate of 5.39% until January 2013 (on a maximum LTV deal of 60%), after this date you can expect to pay a subsequent rate of 2.5% with a minimum arrangement fee of 2.5%.
These are only a handful of the top buy-to-let deals currently available on the property market; however their interest rates in particular do suggest that the lending market is improving.
The only thing left to change is their LTV’s. Lower these bad boys from 60%-75% and these product offerings would be even more tempting.
Wendy xx
