Lenders must create ‘innovative’ mortgage products to ‘support landlords’

With many landlords now facing higher taxes and more stringent borrowing conditions, it is crucial that mortgage lenders do more to help buy-to-let investors manage their property portfolios, according to Accord Buy to Let.

The Yorkshire Building Society Group’s intermediary-only lender, which last week announced cuts to its fixed buy-to-let mortgage range, has also now launched a range of new tracker mortgages designed to provide landlords with flexibility to exit their mortgage early without early repayment fees.

“There is a lot of uncertainty in the market due to the recent taxation changes impacting landlords and the tighter underwriting controls lenders are adopting to ensure landlords are not over committed and can support their property portfolio,” said Chris Maggs, Accord’s Buy to Let commercial manager.

“It is imperative that lenders look to support landlords by creating innovative products which provide flexibility in a changing environment,” he added.

Each mortgage comes with the addition of incentives designed to help landlords keep costs low and will track the Bank of England’s existing rate for two-years.

In addition to greater flexibility, the lender’s initial tracker period will, like all Accord’s buy-to-let mortgages, revert to a discounted rate of 3.79% after the initial two-year period for a further three years. During this period there are also no early repayment charges enabling the customer to exit the mortgage at any time.

Maggs continued: “Our new trackers do not tie landlords into their mortgage, giving them breathing space to review their options on a regular basis– with the bonus of not being subject to early repayment charges. Landlords also have a further cushion of our discounted reversion rate once their mortgage term ends giving them an extended period of flexibility which we hope they will welcome, especially if the buy-to-let market is subject to further changes.”

Available at 65% loan-to-value (LTV) is a 2.69% two-year tracker with a £300 fee, or at 75% LTV there is a 2.9% two-year tracker mortgage with a £300 fee. Both options are available to landlords looking to remortgage or add to their property portfolio.

Each mortgage comes with a free standard valuation and for remortgages standard legal fees are also covered by Accord.

Ying Tan, managing director at The Buy to Let Business, commented: “It’s important to have market-leading products and competitive rates available to landlords to support them during this time of uncertainty.”

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