Buy to let portfolio mortgage for professional landlords.

Since 2013 Fox Davidson have been working with professional landlords, providing advice and arranging funding across all types of property and all sizes of portfolios ranging from a couple of properties to several hundred. In this article we will look at the buy to let portfolio mortgage.

There are several reasons why you may wish to review your buy to let portfolio mortgage including; to secure cheaper rates, lock in to a long term fix or to release equity for expansion of the portfolio.

In more recent years, due to tax changes, many landlords have been advised to incorporate their portfolios. We can facilitate lending to LLP’s, Ltd companies and within SIPP/SASS.

Portfolio finance takes a holistic view of a professional landlords overall portfolio and offers a solution utilising sometimes just one lender and sometimes several.

What is a buy to let portfolio mortgage?

A buy to let portfolio mortgage is a mortgage secured across four or more buy to let properties. A portfolio mortgage will take into account all aspects of the portfolio including property value, rental income, tenant type, location, loan size, and landlord profile. It is a complex type of mortgage requiring a lot of careful planning before putting into place.

A buy to let portfolio mortgage does not necessarily utilise just one lender as it can often be more cost effective to utilise multiple lenders. This is especially true where portfolio is made up of different property types including HMOI. semi-commercial, student lets etc and also where the ownership of the portfolio is in multiple Ltd company names or a mix of personal and ltd company ownership.

At Fox Davidson we are a leading UK mortgage brokerage for buy to let portfolio mortgages and have worked with some of the largest property portfolio landlords in the UK. We work with portfolio landlords to plan for the future and to maximise your return thorough cost effective funding and planning.

How does a buy to let portfolio work?

A buy to let portfolio mortgages works by lending across the entire property portfolio. A portfolio mortgage takes in to account all of the property values and rents and is loaned up to 75% loan to value. A buy to let portfolio mortgage can be secured with just one lender or with several.

The first step you need to take is to collate all of your property date into a spreadsheet. If you don’t have one then Fox Davidson can provide you with one which will help you and us to understand; what property you own, how it is held, property values, mortgage values, rental income and tenant profile.

Once we have all of the required information we will discuss your plans for the portfolio including your immediate and long term goals.

We will then work on a mortgage solution secured against the portfolio that helps you to minimise your finance costs and helps you to meet your objectives. We have clients that want to aggressively pay down their portfolio mortgage, we have clients that want to regularly remortgage and realise capital in order to grow their portfolio.

Whatever your goals are we will work with you to ensure that the buy to let portfolio mortgage we put in place works for you.

Does a buy to let portfolio use one lender or several?

A buy to let portfolio mortgage can use one lender or several. There are advantages and disadvantages of both.

Advantages of using one portfolio lender:

  • One application form
  • One set of underwriting
  • One mortgage offer

Disadvantages of using one portfolio lender:

  • May exclude property that doesn’t meet lenders criteria.
  • Underwriting rules will apply to whole portfolio, less flexibility.

We often find that we can offer clients greater flexibi8lyt and better lending terms when we use multiple lenders and place each lender in their areas of strength. Each lender has their own strict set of criteria which determines how they calculate the Max loan and what property types they will and will not lend against.

How can I get a buy to let portfolio mortgage?

In order to secure a buy to let portfolio mortgage you will need a spreadsheet containing your portfolio date, proof of income, 3 months bank statements, proof of of ID and proof of address. With all of those details you will be in a good shape to apply for a buy to let portfolio mortgage.

Portfolio landlords also have some additional requirements to deal with including:

  • A business plan
  • Cash flow forecast
  • Asset and liabilities statement

Fox Davidson will work with you to complete a business plan, cashflow forecast and A&L statement that will satisfy the mortgage lenders requirements.

Buy to let portfolio stress tests.

There are two types of buy to let portfolio stress tests. The first one is applied to a subject property when assessing a lending amount. Typical street test is 125% for Ltd company owned BTL’s and 140% for privately owned BTL’s. The annual rent is the stressed at a notional rate or at the 5 years fixed rate when choosing a 5 years fixed rate.

A ltd company borrowing on a 5 years fixed rate will always be able to borrow the most under the rent to loan calculation stress test.

The second stress test is applied to the background portfolio. The stressing varies between lenders but includes a maximum overall LTV and a rent to loan stress test.

When choosing a lender for a buy to let mortgage portfolio we will factor in both of these stress tests to ensure that the maths work.

Reviewing a buy to let portfolio for mortgage purposes.

As part of our buy to let portfolio mortgage service, we will review your portfolio including:

  • Current property values
  • Any changes to the property (conversion into flats, refurbishments, changes to letting type)
  • Any changes to rental income received
  • Upcoming product end dates
  • Properties that have been sold or any plans to buy
  • Overall plans for the portfolio going forward

With recent changes to the way privately owned and limited company buy-to-lets are taxed, it is important to hold regular reviews with your accountants too in order to ensure that your buy-to-let portfolio finance is managed as efficiently as possible.

New lenders coming to market have brought innovation and changes to the way loans are underwritten. We offer extensive knowledge of the UK buy-to-let market and guarantee quality, professional mortgage advice.

Types Of Property.

The types of property we can secure buy to let portfolio mortgage on include:

We will discuss your situation in full so that we can better understand your requirements and future plans and goals. We work with you to drive your investments forward and meet your goals, whether they are capital growth, a source of income, or both.

FAQ’s

How many buy to let mortgages can you have?

There is no maximum amount of buy to let mortgages you can have within a
portfolio. It is unlimited.

Will a lender need to value each property in my portfolio?

Any property that a lender lends against will need be valued for mortgage
lending purposes. Some lenders can carry out an AVM which is a desktop valuation.

Do i need a solicitor for a buy to let portfolio mortgage?

All remortgages require a solicitor to act for you. A solicitor will check
the titles of the property to ensure they are good for lending on. The
solicitor will handle all monies and register the charge at land registry.

How long does a BTL portfolio remortgage take?

A buy to let portfolio remortgage typically takes around 4 to 6 weeks to go
to mortgage offer.

Are portfolio mortgages cheaper?

Portfolio mortgages can be cheaper as the total loan amount may allow one to
borrow with lenders that offer more competitive mortgage terms for larger
loans.