"This is a perfect example of how we work with brokers to find solutions for cases that fall outside standard criteria"
- Grant Hendry - Foundation Home Loans
Foundation Home Loans, the intermediary-only specialist lender, has completed a complex mortgage for a first-time buyer acquiring a licensed seven-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Bristol.
The property, purchased for £660,000, was financed with a 75% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage through one of the lender’s specialist HMO products. The client, a London-based legal professional with a high income, is currently renting and sought the property as the starting point for a long-term investment portfolio.
The case fell outside standard lending criteria, as many lenders will not consider applicants who are both first-time buyers and first-time landlords, particularly when the property is a licensed HMO. Foundation Home Loans considered the application in full, assessing the client’s wider profile.
Although the borrower had no property ownership history, they presented a clean credit record, strong financial standing, and a detailed management plan for the HMO. The broker, familiar with Foundation Home Loans’ flexible, case-by-case approach, submitted the application with confidence that it would be reviewed on its merits.
The lender continues to offer mortgage solutions for landlords with complex or non-standard requirements, including multi-occupancy properties, limited company borrowing, and first-time landlord cases.
"This is a perfect example of how we work with brokers to find solutions for cases that fall outside standard criteria,’ said Grant Hendry, director of sales at Foundation Home Loans. "Such a case would often be declined outright based on the client being both a first-time buyer and landlord. Fortunately, we had worked with the broker before and they trusted us to assess the case on its full merits, rather than being restricted by headline criteria alone or dismissing it at first glance."
"The client’s strong financial position, clean credit history and well-structured management plan allowed us to offer a suitable solution through one of our specialist HMO products. And that’s the beauty of specialist lending, its understanding the individual, not just working through a checklist. It’s about being positioned to support creditworthy, capable borrowers in a responsible manner."
