Inform 28th April 2022

We regularly review our lending policy and processes to ensure that we are delivering the right outcomes for you and your clients and further to our email yesterday, we are pleased to confirm a number of other positive changes were made as of, Friday 22nd April, 2022.

• Our application systems have been enhanced to provide you with greater upfront clarity over the lending status of your sole trader and partner self-employed clients. Moving forward, the system will confirm at the Decision in Principle (DIP) stage if affordability is met for sole trader and partners, saving you time and allowing you to potentially re-model the case if applicable.
• We’ve clarified our approach for self-employed limited company directors who are paid as an employee (PAYE) and as such do not have to pay any further tax to pay: They are not required to provide tax calculations and tax year overviews provided total gross earnings are <£100K per annum.
• Limited Liability Partnerships- document validity: Where 4 or more partners exist in legal and accountancy firms: we will now accept Tax Calculations/ Tax year overviews dated up to 21 months at point of application (instead of the usual 18 months).
• Affordable housing schemes: We’ve updated policy to confirm that the existence of ‘nomination rights’ (restrictions as to whom a property can be sold) or a ‘moratorium period’ (a time period during which a registered provider may buy back the property in the event of default) are acceptable provided the period does not exceed 3 months and no further restrictions are placed on the lender beyond that timeframe. Affordable schemes included are DMS and shared ownership.

Click here to view our affordable schemes keying submission guide.

Gives clients swift access to some of the UK’s top consultants

Umbrella Benefits – more choice, more cover, more support

We know it’s important to get answers as quickly as possible when facing serious illness. That’s where Private Diagnostics** can help, with a blend of virtual consultations and in-person testing appointments

Private Diagnostics gives your clients access to some of the UK’s top consultants for diagnostic testing when referred to see a specialist for cancer, cardiology or neurological Available for an additional £4.50 a month.

Key Facts

• Results provided in just a few weeks from the day of referral
• Covers investigations for cancer, cardiac or neurological conditions when referred to a specialist by the GP
• Provides up to 3 primary virtual consultations per year when referred for different symptoms
• Available to the policyholder, and children up to age 22

Umbrella Benefits is, exclusive to intermediaries, also offering

• Wellbeing support
• Fracture cover
• Rehabilitation Support Service*

Find out more and watch our useful animation.

*included with our income protection policy

**Insured by AXIS specialty Europe SE. The support and services are provided by Trustdoctor, a sister company of Further Underwriting International SLU

Introducing your Partner First Service Team

Looking after your Protection business is at the heart of what we do, and as a valued member of our business, we would like to introduce you to your New Partner First Service Team.

You’ll now have a dedicated telephone line and mailbox giving you immediate access to your team, providing a quick and convenient way to talk to us about your business. We’ve also introduced a dedicated support line for all your pre-sale underwriting enquiries.

Click here to download your handy guide containing all the contact details and information about the team and how it will work.

Our pro-active approach is tailored to help speed up the application process and get your customer covered as quickly as possible.

https://adviser.legalandgeneral.com/l/689583/2022-04-01/sc9wp.

Buy to let market: we’d love your views!

We’d really appreciate it if you would complete a brief survey to get your thoughts on the buy to let market. There are only seven questions. If you’re in a rush you can simply tick a few boxes, but it would also be great if you can also add some of your thoughts. Either way, we’d really appreciate your input.

To say thank you, if you complete the survey by 5pm Friday 6^th May, you can enter our prize draw to win a £100 Amazon gift card.

Complete the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BTL-MARKET-SURVEY

Thanks for your input and good luck with the prize draw!

Manor Mortgages can take a problem property and income and boost affordability to help buy purchase a property with an annex.

Daniel and Sarah purchased a £1.2 million property with an annex.

In this annex, were separate utilities outbuildings and land, which created a fundamental issue for the vast majority of lenders, due to the property being non-standard construction. In addition to this, Daniel has a construction business, which made a profit of £158,000 in 2021 and £48,000 in 2020, however, no accounts were available for 2022.

Although this added further complexity to this situation, we discussed this with an underwriter at a lender, who we had a good relationship with, and due to the way we presented the case they agreed to accept to use an accountant’s projection.

This helped to boost the affordability and ensure the couple was borrowing enough to make the purchase.

Before using Manor Mortgages, the maximum loan they had been offered was £450,000, but we were able to obtain £535,000 for the clients at 2.94% fixed for 5 years.

To find out more about their problem property solutions call Manor Mortgages on 01275 399299 or visit their website here.

Castle Trust BTL semi-exclusive products

Key Features Include:

• 75% max LTV
• £100 application fee
• 5 year term
• £150,000 minimum loan
• £200,000 maximum loan
• Max term 10 years

Click here to read the full product guide.

Many advisers and clients are left frustrated with their lender journey. Many would argue the root cause is a lack of common sense in assessing the case.

However, did you know that at West One, our manual underwriting process applies a common-sense approach to all cases? From handling a complex limited company portfolio to the straightforward buy to let purchase or re-mortgage, one of our experienced team of underwriters offers an individual assessment of every case on its own merit, looking for the best outcome for you and the client.

How can you help? Provide as much information and package the application with the basic requirements for the case to be assessed without delays using a simple checklist.

So, if you have clients looking to purchase or re-mortgage properties held in their limited company, need a new lender for their portfolio or wish to discuss anything else Buy to Let, then please speak to us at West One by calling our broker support team on 0333 123 4556 or email:  btlbrokersupport@westoneloans.co.uk.

Impact Specialist Finance, the leading specialist packager and distributor, has been appointed by United Trust Bank (UTB) to their newly formed buy-to-let packager panel.

Impact’s brokers will have access to UTB’s recently launched buy-to-let product range which caters for both individual and limited company ownership, as well as portfolios, HMOs and MUFBs.

In addition, brokers can use the impactportal to place, source, and track their cases. This user-friendly CRM system provides brokers with control of their clients’ applications. Impact’s system has a host of features to help save time and assist in managing cases throughout the application process. The technology allows brokers to track cases from simple enquiries all the way through to completed applications.

Dale Jannels, Managing Director at Impact Specialist Finance, commented:
“Over the years we’ve worked with many new lenders when they first enter the market and although UTB aren’t a new lender, their launch into buy-to-let is a significant step in their growth plans.

We are delighted to have been chosen as one of the first distributors and look forward to working with Mike and the team.”

Mike Walters, Sales Director – Mortgages at United Trust Bank added:
“Since announcing our launch into buy-to-let in March, our team have been working hard to quickly bring the range to market and so this launch with impact, along with a small number of other specialist distributors, is a key milestone on our distribution plans.

Dale and the team are renowned as experts in buy-to-let and so they were an automatic choice for us for this stage of our launch and we look forward to growing this part of our business in 2022.”

To find out more, call the Impact team on 01403 272625