A look at what we have been working on across residential, HNW and buy to let lending in July 2026, how lenders turn an investment portfolio into mortgage affordability, the valuation question that keeps coming up on larger HMOs, and where rates have landed for the summer.
The Cases
A month of private banks, land and larger HMOs
July has been a very busy month. We have been working on a lot of high net worth cases with private banks, for clients with unconventional income sources, clients with liquid assets over £3 million looking to put their investment portfolios to work for affordability, clients buying large acreage property, and clients whose wealth sits in commercial property and development projects rather than salary, alongside a steady flow of HMO mortgages for clients who want commercial or investment valuations on six bed plus HMOs.
Private Banks
Unconventional income and the wealth behind it
The private bank cases are the ones I enjoy most. A client whose income arrives as carried interest, dividends held back in a company, or returns from an investment portfolio does not fit a high street affordability calculator and never will. What a private bank wants to see is the overall wealth position and a sensible story around how the lending gets repaid, and my role is to present that story so the lender understands the case as well as I do by the time it reaches a decision maker. Relationship is everything in this part of the market, and knowing who wants to lend to a client and at what price is a constant variable.
Several of this month’s clients hold significant commercial and development investments, and the residential lending sits alongside that wider picture rather than apart from it. A lender that understands a development schedule or a commercial rent roll reads those clients very differently from one that only wants a payslip, which is why the HNW route exists in the first place. If you are not sure whether you clear the FCA’s high net worth thresholds, our HNW qualification calculator gives you the answer in a minute, and the affordability rules guide explains how lenders assess what you can borrow either side of that line.
Assets As Income
Turning an investment portfolio into mortgage affordability
In July I worked with a number of high net worth clients with liquid assets over £3 million who were looking to monetise their savings and investment portfolios for mortgage affordability. The mechanism is simpler than most people expect. The lender does not take a charge over the portfolio. Instead it uses the value of the portfolio to create a theoretical income by amortising the capital across the mortgage term. £1 million spread over a ten year term is treated as £100,000 a year towards affordability.
Cash savings and investment portfolios both qualify for this treatment. Equity in property does not, so a client whose wealth sits entirely in bricks and mortar needs a different route. What makes the structure attractive is that it is a dry lend: the lender uses the value of the portfolio without placing any charge against it and without requiring the assets to be moved under its management. The portfolio stays invested exactly where it is, with the manager the client chose. If your wealth sits in assets rather than salary, our guide to asset rich, income poor mortgages covers the wider set of options, and the HNW mortgage team can tell you quickly whether your portfolio supports the borrowing you have in mind.
Property With Land
Large acreage, and why most lenders stop at the gate
Most lenders lose interest once a home comes with real land attached. Acreage brings questions about agricultural ties, outbuildings, equestrian use and how much of the value sits in the land rather than the house, and the mainstream answer to those questions is usually no. The lenders that will look at the whole holding want the case set out properly from the start, which is where we come in. These purchases are often lifestyle moves, a family finally getting the space they have wanted for years, and the disappointment when a mainstream lender pulls out two weeks in is real. Getting the right lender in from day one avoids it. Our large acreage property page covers how lenders draw the line, and the same thinking applies across non-standard property generally.
The Trend
Six bed plus HMOs and the valuation question
Buy to let is Wes’s side of the business, so this one is his. He has spent July on a steady run of six bed plus HMO cases, and the same question keeps coming up.
The question I am asked most on HMO lending at the moment is about valuation basis. Investors buying or refinancing six bed plus HMOs want a commercial or investment valuation, where the value is driven by the income the property produces rather than what the house next door sold for, because on the right property that basis supports a higher value and more borrowing.
The honest answer is that lenders reserve the commercial basis for properly commercial stock, generally six or seven lettable rooms upwards with the licensing and layout to match, and most HMOs in the UK are smaller than that. Where the property does qualify the uplift can be substantial, which is exactly why we rebuilt our HMO valuation calculator this month with yields by region and city and a maximum borrowing figure alongside the valuation.
If you are weighing up a purchase, Wes’s guide to HMO mortgage rates and criteria covers which lenders lend on what, and where to buy an HMO in the UK ranks the cities where the yields actually stack up.
The Market
Rates holding, and where the real pricing happens
The base rate stayed at 3.75% again this month, and with the uncertainty in global markets I am not expecting it to move quickly. Wes has said what he thinks about the new prime minister in the FD Commercial roundup, and I will leave the politics to him. For larger mortgages the base rate is only part of the story anyway, because private bank and specialist pricing moves on relationship and case quality as much as on the market, and that is where a broker earns their fee. If you are modelling a purchase, the stamp duty calculator and million pound mortgage calculator will give you the numbers that matter before you speak to anyone.
What’s Next
What we are here for
We continue to advise UK clients on mortgages from £250,000 to £250 million plus, working with high earners, HNW individuals, landlords and property professionals. If you have a case that needs working through, or you want to talk through a structure before you commit to it, give us a call.
Got a case that needs working through?
We arrange residential, HNW and buy to let mortgages from £250,000 to £250 million plus across the UK. Talk to us before you commit to a structure.