Hi everyone, hope you’ve had a good week.

This week I’d like to share what I’ve learnt this week about payment holidays on your buy to let portfolio.

Firstly, I’d like to caveat this with the importance of asking for help from your mortgage lender if you think there’s any chance you could have an issue paying your mortgage. Payment holidays are a great way of helping your cash flow where you think there could be an issue and the government have said that this will not affect your credit rating and will not show as a missed payment.

What were payment holidays designed for?

The government acted very quickly early on in the pandemic to try and mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19. One of the early interventions was the introduction of payment holidays for those who need it, and in the main this was designed for residential mortgage customers. This was simply because those mortgages make up the vast majority of mortgages in the UK and this was very much a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

The reason this moved to buy to let mortgages, was due to tenants being in the same position of not being able to pay their rent as home owners; I think that’s important to recognise as I go on to explain the impact this may have on your future borrowing as an investor.

So what is the impact of a payment holiday as a property investor?

What we have started to see this week are lenders’ reactions to clients taking payment holidays on their portfolios.

What they have said, in the main, is that a landlord who is stretched financially enough to warrant a 3 month payment holiday is not eligible for further lending. So if you have a payment holiday on any mortgage, you won’t be able to refinance in order to raise capital on your existing portfolio, or buy another property.

Please think carefully about whether you want the option to borrow in the near future, as the payment holidays will be evident on your credit search and bank statements (even though they don’t have a detrimental effect on your credit rating).

Some lenders are giving the option of repaying the missed payments back, as they appreciate it may have not been a well thought out decision at the time, especially as customers may not have been made of the potential consequences.

To be clear, this is only a issue for clients looking for further borrowing, whether that be for a new property or refinance of an existing one. If you want to take advantage of the current opportunities in the market then think very carefully about whether a payment holiday is the right decision.

As always, if you want to chat through your options then give me a call. Have a good weekend!

Hello everyone.

As we get to the end of mental health awareness week, I hope you are all keeping a check on your mental health, and focusing on your own oxygen mask BEFORE helping others!  This will be a marathon rather than a sprint, so very important to look after ourselves.

My blog today is focused on how we can keep momentum going with your cases during this time.

Be upfront with your information

There is still a glacier shift in offerings compared to where we were, and many caveats on higher LTV products.  We are able to get to 75% with most cases now where we need to, so please let us know your priorities from the beginning.  With these caveats on certain cases it is so important to be upfront about your whole deal to ensure that the solution we find is appropriate.

Things are changing by the day so I hope that we will have more to offer over the coming weeks, particular in the bridging market.

Time management of your case

As furlough (clearly a life line for a number of companies) is all or nothing, there are either fewer numbers of staff or a bit of a musical chairs way of working within companies.  Staff can be in one week and off the next, so our ability to manage that is key to keeping as much momentum as possible with your case.  This is affecting lenders and solicitors, so all the way through the process.

The best way for you to help us control this is to be timely in your delivering of information and documents.  It is very easy to lose a couple of weeks on a daily accrual basis.  Valuers are now back, although this will be a slow process to get all companies back, so the options currently are limited.  We need to get your property in the queue as early as possible.  We will, of course, act as quickly as we can to keep that momentum going.

Managing valuations around tenants

Please check before instructing your valuation if any of your tenants are shielding.  That information is key to managing a physical viewing.  There are clear guidelines around how surveyors value a property, for example opening all doors beforehand and ensuring all tenants are out of the property for the whole visit.  It is so important to have these conversations with your tenants prior to booking, as your will be charged for additional visits.  It goes without saying that valuations cannot happen where someone is self-isolating or showing symptoms of COVID.

I have managed to get some viewings done via WhatsApp video and photos to avoid the valuer entering the premises, so there are other options.  Lenders are also still using desktops where they can.  As always, it is vital to be upfront and honest with us and your tenants so no time and money is wasted.  Forewarned is forearmed!

Enjoy your long weekend, as always we are here to chat through any cases you have so give us a call or drop and email to book in a conversation.

After a very promising speech from Boris on Sunday, it’s been quite slow in terms of a response from lenders this week.

Some lenders are now getting physical valuations instructed, which adds to the desktops and automated valuation models (AVMs) that we have been using. Valuers will be busy, so get into the queue!!

I am hoping that by next week we will have a more solid direction from RICS and we can see more lenders’ reaction from that.

What we have seen though, is house builders return to sites and construction workers start again. This is great news for investors looking at development and refurbishment projects as they will be able to start looking at potential deals, together with finishing off what’s been started. Where lenders were very averse to larger projects, we are hoping that this shift will now mean they are able to start looking at them again.

The other great news is that house viewings can now resume, meaning that the build up of those waiting can start to shift.  We are hoping that this means an increase in properties coming to the market, and more opportunities and discounts for investors. This rule change also means that renters can start to look to move again, and the prospect of filling an empty property which has just been refurbished is less daunting!

It is small steps this week, but we are starting to see activity increase. We are hopeful that next week will bring more good news and some more policy changes!

Enjoy your weekend, and we will keep you updated next week with any changes that appear.

Hi everyone. How sane is are we all?  A long weekend should help!

The bridging side of funding did take a bit of a hit early doors.  This may have been due to where the funding comes from, together with the risk element of a viable exit.  With potential down valuations further down the road and uncertainty of timescales, it can cause issues to funders.

That said, as always, as time goes by lenders are able to start giving better options.  We are now able to offer up to 75% LTV on standard residential and semi commercial properties.  We are also able to offer both Automated Valuation Model (AVM) and desktop valuations, which lets you complete without the need for a physical valuation.

If you want to borrow the refurbishment funding, then a full valuation will be required. That said, providing it is not an auction situation, we are able to get the case to pre-offer, pending a full valuation report.

I think the important point to be made is there is funding available.  Lenders have a tenacious appetite for lending money and will find ways through the lockdown to achieve this.

The industry is reasonably buoyant and even in this new ‘normal’ we are able to complete cases.

I  am here to discuss opportunities, so call me to chat through your options.