How bridging offers a path to certainty in 2024…
By Victoria Barnard, Business Development Manager, Lendinvest
Regardless of the customer, everyone who wants a mortgage this year wants certainty that they may have lacked in 2023.
For landlords: a constantly changing rate environment meant balancing yields with high-quality homes, as well as remortgaging portfolios on higher rates, meant many were cautious about entering the market and expanding portfolios.
For homeowners: their dream home could have been available, but the changing rate environment affected people at every step of the chain, and also could’ve put more pressure on their affordability.
As we enter a New Year, how can we make it easier for both sets? As always, bridging can provide the solution.
A falling rate environment
In the days since we all came back from the holidays, we – among other lenders – have cut rates across Buy-to-Let and Residential ranges.
Declining Swap rates and a stable BOE Base Rate has given lenders room to cut rates and pass on the benefit to every type of customer.
This will be welcome news to landlords of all stripes, and our homeowner customers who may struggle to get a mortgage elsewhere.
While we do anticipate this to continue, and indeed the prediction is for the BOE Base Rate to fall this year, we’ve known from the last three years not to take these circumstances for granted. So how can brokers support their customers take advantage of the opportunities lower rates offers?
The speed of bridging
In both Buy-to-Let and Residential Mortgages, unregulated and regulated bridging can act as chain breakers, securing your customers their next property with less delays that might happen in a chain backed up by demand.
Because as rates fall, we will expect more people to enter the market than last year, and bridging can offer a path to knowing the property you want will be yours.
Obviously there are considerations to make, especially on the regulated side, if the view is to remortgage onto a long-term mortgage then future affordability will need to be factored in, but that’s for lenders to work quickly on to match the important needs of the customer.
Bridging has always been the fast solution, and with a broad bridging range, it can be the flexible one to getting your customers the property they want, when they want it, and bring some much needed certainty back to the market.
