Buy-to-let specialist lender, Fleet Mortgages, has announced that it has launched a range of five-year fixed-rate products with 5% product fees on 3 November, adding options for advisers whose landlord clients face affordability tests.
The products go up to 75% LTV across Fleet’s Standard, Limited Company and HMO/MUFB ranges. Fleet introduced them to offer lower headline interest rates to landlords who may benefit from a higher-fee structure.
The five-year fixed-rate range is priced as follows:
- Standard and Limited Company: 5.24%, with a free valuation on properties valued up to £500,000.
- HMO/MUFB: 5.49%, with £1,000 cashback.
All products carry a minimum loan size of £75,000, and borrowers can add the product fee to the mortgage at completion, subject to lending criteria.
Fleet said the range complements its existing five-year fixed-rate products, which carry different fee structures, and gives advisers more choice when matching a mortgage to a landlord client. The company added that the lower headline rates may help landlords meet interest coverage ratio (ICR) requirements, where rental income and affordability calculations might restrict how much they can borrow.
The five-year products follow Fleet’s launch of one-year fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgages in October, also available up to 75% LTV. The one-year Standard and Limited Company product is priced at 3.49% with a 2.5% product fee and a free valuation on properties valued up to £500,000. The HMO/MUFB version is priced at 3.74%, also with a 2.5% fee, and comes with £1,000 cashback.
“Affordability continues to be one of the main considerations for landlord borrowers and their advisers, particularly when it comes to refinancing existing properties or securing the borrowing required for further investment,” said Steve Cox, chief commercial officer at Fleet Mortgages (pictured).
“We know there are landlords who have perfectly sound rental businesses but are currently finding their borrowing options curtailed by higher affordability assessments, especially when interest rates remain at levels above what they might have anticipated a few years ago.”
“By introducing these new five-year, fixed-rate products with higher fees, we are giving advisers another option to consider, with lower headline rates which may help their clients meet the relevant rental stress tests and potentially access the borrowing they require,” he added.
“Whether a landlord is looking for payment certainty, improved affordability or the ability to raise capital for further investment, advisers need access to different product and fee combinations to find the most appropriate solution.
“These new five-year products are another addition to that range and reflect our continued commitment to supporting advisers and landlords in what remains a more complex buy-to-let mortgage market.”
