Landbay

Landbay has refreshed its entire BTL product suite, including its green mortgage range.

The specialist lender has cut rates across its standard and specialist BTL products — including those for small portfolio landlords and trading limited companies — by 0.14 to 0.29 percentage points.

Its lowest rate is now set at 2.65% for a two-year fix at 65% LTV, down from 2.85%.

Other highlights of the product refresh include the standard five-year fixed-rate available at 75% LTV with a free valuation option, which has been reduced to 3.04%.

Also benefiting from lower rates is the small HMO/MUFB suite (also available for new build properties), for which the 75% LTV options have fallen to 3.34% from 3.59%.

In addition, Landbay has revamped its green mortgage range by including A-, B- and C-rated properties under one product, as well as cutting rates by 0.10 percentage points.

The lender also extended the green range to include new builds, which can now benefit from a rate reduction for properties with EPC ratings from A to C.

Paul Brett, managing director for intermediaries at Landbay, said: “Despite the Bank of England raising the base rate by 0.15 percentage points in December, we are in a position where we are able to lower rates.

“We have access to strong funding lines and our funding partners are keen to support our competitive product position, which we intend to maintain. 

“Last year, we expanded our product range even further by making significant inroads into helping small portfolio landlords, HMO landlords and those aiming to be environmentally friendly. 

“We have been blown away by the interest and take-up of our green range as more property investors are realising the importance of making their property energy efficient. 

“Around one in 10 of our loans are for new build property, so it makes perfect sense to extend our green mortgage to this cohort of landlords.”

YBS Commercial Mortgages

YBS Commercial Mortgages has revised its corporate BTL and holiday let offerings.

The lender has cut the rate for its corporate BTL five-year fix available at up to 65% LTV by 0.15 percentage points, effective from 10th January.

Following this, the product will be priced at 3.05% on loans up to £20m.

For its holiday let range, YBS Commercial Mortgages is now allowing landlords to take out a product in their own name, removing the requirement for a limited company to be in place.

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Mike Davies, head of business development at YBS Commercial Mortgages, said: “We’re really pleased to reduce the rate on our five-year fixed rate product at 65% LTV. 

“The change reflects our desire to support investment in the UK economy and is based on feedback from our broker panel members. 

“The change to the holiday let product will open up the market to borrowers and make it easier for those looking to take advantage of the current demand for staycations.

“We’re always looking for ways to exceed expectations, and we hope this will be welcome news for brokers and their clients.”

Castle Trust Bank

Castle Trust Bank has lowered the rate on one of its most popular products, extended special offers and improved valuation criteria as part of a range of new year proposition enhancements.

The specialist lender has cut the rate for its 75% LTV five-year fix with a five-year ERC — part of its TermTen suite — by 0.59 percentage points to 4.15%.

In the same range, Castle Trust Bank is maintaining the special rate of 3.95% up to 70% LTV and 4.50% up to 75% LTV on its five-year fixed-rate products with a two-year ERC.

In addition, it is extending its cashback offer of up to £5,000 + VAT on valuations fees across its entire product range, from the end of February until the end of April 2022.

The lender has also improved its valuation criteria — following this, all property portfolios will now be assessed on open-market value, freehold blocks up to 20 units will be assessed on aggregate market value and freehold blocks greater than 20 units will be assessed on investment block value.

Rob Oliver, sales director at Castle Trust Bank, said: “At Castle Trust Bank, we understand that a good specialist BTL proposition is a combination of factors, including rate, service, criteria and incentives, and we are always looking into how we can improve our proposition for brokers and their clients. 

“Our new year enhancements include a significant rate reduction on one of our most popular products, the extension of great rates we had previously introduced as special offers, and we are continuing our valuation cashback offer until the end of April. 

“This has already been in high-demand and we know that the current environment and prevalence of the Omicron variant means many businesses in the property industry are currently working under capacity, which is prolonging the process for many transactions. 

“So, it seems only right that we extend this offer to give as many customers the opportunity to benefit from it as possible.”