Mortgage News
Kent Reliance to withdraw new business products
KentReliancewillwithdrawitsnewbusinessproductsthisweek.
Here’samessagefromAdrianMoloney,GroupIntermediaryDirectoratOne SavingsBankwithallthedetails:
“As you’ll have seen, we ’ re strengthening our specialist expertise and making it simpler than ever to choose the right lender for your needs
Rely, our new lending brand dedicated exclusively to buy to let, offers products to support the full spectrum of the private rented sector It’s a game-changing proposition for brokers and property investors alike, driven by a mortgage technology platform that offers quicker decisions while reducing admin burden.
Precise will continue to support your residential and bridging customers with straightforward, flexible, fuss-free solutions.
With that in mind, we’ll shortly be retiring the Kent Reliance for Intermediaries (KRFI) brand for new buy to let and residential business“
What this means for existing customers
We’llcontinuetoofferproducttransfersforexistingbuytoletandresidential customers.Staircasingforsharedownershipwillalsostillbeavailable.
Furtheradvanceswon'tbeavailableafterWednesday17December.
to Let Customers & Min
Loan reduction
MetroBankhaveexpandedtheirBuytoLetRangeto80%LTVacrossboth personalandlimitedcompanyapplications,availableonhousesandflats,with theoptiontoaddtheproductfeetotheloan.Metrohavealsoannounceda reductiontotheirminimumloan.Allthedetailsbelow:
Buy to Let highlights
Lessthanperfectcredit profilesconsidered Maximumage85attheend oftheterm
Nominimumincome,atleast oneapplicant/Directormust beearninganincome(other thanrental)
Limited Company Buy to Let highlights
Broadsolicitorpanel 125%ofthemortgage interestamountcalculatedat standardBuytoLetstress rates
Uptofour Directors/Shareholders–mustbethesamepeopleand have100%shareholding
Personal Buy to Let highlights
PortfoliolandlordsandLettoBuy TopSlicing
Uptofourapplicantsonthe mortgagecanbeconsidered
Metro Bank reduces Buy to Let minimum loan size to £50,000
We’vefurtherstrengthenedour buytoletpropositionbyloweringour minimumloansizeto£50,000forall newbusinessapplicationsacross personal,limitedcompany,HMOand MUFBlending.
Great news – Top slicing now available to First Time Landlords
Greatnews!Accordhaveenhanced theirtopslicingcriteriatoacceptFirst TimeLandlordsandreducedthe minimumincomeforexperienced landlords.
Theseimprovementsreflectour commitmenttohelpingyousupport moreBTLclientsbyenablinggreater flexibilityallowingmoreoftheir earnedincometo‘topup’ affordability.
What’s changing?
Topslicingisnowavailableto FirstTimeLandlords,provided applicantshaveaminimumsingle orjointincomeof£75,000.
Forexperiencedlandlords,the minimumsingleorjointincome requirementfortopslicinghas beenreducedto£40,000.
Who’s eligible?
FirstTimeLandlordapplicants mustnothaveownedarental propertythattheyhaveletoutfor morethan12monthsatthetime ofapplication,andmusthavea minimumincomeof£75,000
Experiencedlandlordapplicants withaminimumincomeof £40,000.
Any exclusions?
NotavailableonLettoBuy applications
NotavailableforNewBuild properties
Notavailableifapplicationisfor capitalraisingforunsecureddebt consolidationortocoverother personalexpenditure(e.g.Car Purchase,Holiday,Schoolfees,Gift torelative).
What else do you need to know?
MaximumLTVof75%
Allapplicantsmustresideinthe sameproperty
Theminimumincomeisforboth singleandjointapplicationsand mustexcludeanyrentalincome
Theinterestcoverageratiobased onrentalincomeonlymustbe greaterthanorequalto100%and lessthantheminimumrequired ICRthresholdfortheapplication Subjecttorentalaffordabilityand criteria.
What do you need to do?
Youdon’tneedtodoanything differently.Youcancontinueto usetherentalaffordability calculator,submittheDIPand MSOwilldotherest.
Coventryforintermediarieshas introducedanewfeaturetohelp brokerssupporttheirclientswhomay needextraassistanceduringtheir mortgagejourney.
Thelenderhasaddednew functionalitytotheironline applicationsystem,MSO.Itwillgive brokerstheabilitytotelltheminreal time,withclient'sconsent,ifalittle extrahelpisneeded.Becauseoften, lifecanbecomplicated,and circumstancescanchange.
Whenbrokersshareanysupport needstheirclientsmayhave, Coventryforintermediariescan updaterecordsandprovidetailored support.
Guidanceonhowtodothisis availableintheirSupportingclients withvulnerabilitiesguide.
Examples of vulnerabilities include:
Bereavements
Changesinemployment circumstances
Reductionofincome
Riskofjobloss Relationshipbreakdown
Intheonlinesystem,brokerswillsee asectiontitledVulnerableCustomer Support,wheretheycanconfirm whetheraclienthasbeenidentified asvulnerableandselectrelevant characteristicsorsupportneeds.
ThisprocessensuresCoventryfor intermediariescanprovidetheright helpwhenneeded.Thefeatureis designedtobesimpleandeasyto use,tohelpbrokerstosupporttheir clients.
Coventry introduces a new vulnerable customer flag for clients
Protection & GI News
Thereisstilltimetoregisterforboth CriticalIllness&IncomeProtection Webinarstakingplacelaterthisweek, whichareexclusivetoJustMortgages andshouldbeconsideredamustwatch!
Simplyclickontherelevantlinkand completeashortregistration.Anemail confirmationinvitewillthenfollow.
Critical illness - For life, interrupted
Thissessionexploresthetrue financialimpactofacriticalillness, revealinghowcoverisusedinreallife toprotectclientswhentheyneedit themost.
You’lllearnhowtouncoveryour clients’goalsthroughbetter conversationsandtranslatethese intotailoredsolutionsthatsupport theirlong-termplansandfinancial security.
When?
Wednesday17 December10amor 2pm th
Link to register?
Leading with Income - Protecting the Lifestyle
Thissessionexplorestheimpactand needofprotectingyourclient’sincome. Understandingthatincome replacementsolutionscanbean effectivesolutiontomaintainingyour lifestyle.
We’lllookatevolvingourmindsetto leadingwithincomeasthedrivingforce behindprotectionconversations. LookingathowbothIncomeProtection andFamilyIncomeProtectionwork togethertocreatebetterclient outcomes.
When?
Thursday18 December10amor2pm th
Link to register?
Thisweek,lendershavemaintaineddownwardpressureonfixed mortgagepricingamidexpectationsofanimminentBankofEngland base-ratecut(widelyanticipatedon18Dec).Multiplelenders, includingSantander,Barclays,NatWestandNationwide,have releasedlowerfixedratesthisweekwithstandoutproductsinthe low-3%rangeforborrowerswithlowLTVs.
HalifaxdatashowUKhousepricesstagnatedinNovemberaflat monthlyoutcomewithannualgrowthslowingwhileaffordability improvedduetorelativelylowerborrowingcosts.
TheFCAhasdelayedthepublicationofitsinterimreportonthePure ProtectionMarketStudytoearly2026.Thestudycoverstermlife insurance,incomeprotection,criticalillnessandover-50splans.
