Barclays Woolwich: Buy to Let Mortgage Guide

Fancy yourself as a landlord? With our range of BTL deals, owning your own investment property has never been easier. And we’re sure you’ll find a mortgage that’s right up your street.

The basics:

• Mortgages you don’t need a degree to understand.

• Choose to borrow in your private name (whether you are a UK Resident, Non Uk-Resident or Expatriate), as a combination of private individuals (up to 4 applicants allowed), as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Limited Company or a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). A SPV Limited Company may be an attractive option if you’re looking for an alternative investment vehicle.

• Borrow up to 85% loan to value (based on purchase price or valuation whichever is lower) on selected products.

• Mortgages can be for 5 to 25 years.

• Choose repayments on an interest-only and/or capital repayment basis.

• We'll consider loan of £35,000 up to £2.5 million on an individual property.

• Borrow on an unlimited number of properties within our BTL cap of £5m million (subject to formal approval).

• You can choose from a range of BTL Mortgage products including Fixed, Tracker and Switch and Save® Remortgage options. See our latest deals.

• Overpayments up to 10% can be made without incurring an early repayment charge (terms and conditions apply to certain products).

• We don’t have a maximum age restriction, but you will need to be at least 21.

• All mortgages are portable so you can move your BTL mortgage to another BTL property.

Rental cover:

Your property will need to generate sufficient annual rental income to cover your annual interest mortgage payment. The rent cover we will require is 105% calculated on the initial pay rate of the product you select.

General advice:

Owning an investment property is very different to owning your own home; you’re effectively running a small business and therefore need to research, plan and manage carefully to ensure the best possible chance of success.

Remember:

• BTL should be viewed as a long-term investment opportunity - the value of property can go down as well as up.

• Ensure you thoroughly research a prospective property and seek advice from local letting agents about its suitability for letting, level of current demand and anticipated rental income. Consider potential for other letting methods.

• Consider all the costs which may be involved (such as solicitors' fees, stamp duty, letting agency and management fees, building insurance, ground rent/service charge for leasehold flats, maintenance/repairs to the property) into your calculations. • Consider the implications on your tax affairs. We recommend you consider taking professional tax advice from an accountant or discussing with your tax office. • Make provisions for how you would make your monthly BTL mortgage repayments in the event of your BTL property being empty, your tenants failing to pay or if interest rates rise. • You’ll need to arrange insurance that’s specifically for landlords. Find out more about Buy to Let insurance from Barclays.

Link to previous articles: Barclays Woolwich Mortgage Selector: Which Mortgage is right for me? Barclays Woolwich Mortgage: Property Ladder-2 Barclays Woolwich Mortgage: Property Ladder Checklist for Buying a Home Barclays Woolwich Mortgage FAQ Barclays Woolwich Remortgaging

Barclays Woolwich Remortgaging

It’s important that one understands the motive and requirements before going for remortgaging. Remortgaging requires a lot of consideration, can involve some transfer cost and hence all the cost and requirement parameters should be clearly understood before going for remortgaging. Here, we present the details of remortgaging as available from Barclays Woolwich

Remortgaging could save you money - and it may be easier than you think.

It's the process of moving your mortgage from one lender to another or choosing a different type of mortgage from your current lender. It could also cut your monthly repayments.

When should I consider remortgaging?

• If you're coming to the end of a mortgage deal and are about to move on to your lender's Standard Variable Rate.

• If your home has risen in value since you bought it, remortgaging could provide a cost-effective way of borrowing larger sums of money at lower mortgage rates of interest.

What to think about before remortgaging

Remortgaging can be a fairly straightforward process. The first step is to talk to a mortgage specialist about the wide range of mortgages available. Here are some example of the kinds of things you need to consider if you want to remortgage.

• If you're locked into a fixed-term deal with your present lender, you may be liable for an early repayment charge that could wipe out most of your potential savings. You could also be charged a fee for closing your mortgage with your old lender.

• When comparing your old mortgage with a proposed new one, make sure that you compare like with like, eg a repayment mortgage with another repayment one rather than an interest-only loan.

• If you only have a small mortgage, you might be better off sticking with your current deal, as any savings could be cancelled out by the costs.

How it works

Your mortgage lender will want to know several things when you remortgage, including the market value of your property and your current income. Most lenders will require you to have at least 10% equity in your home.

Once your remortgage application has been accepted, the lender will instruct a surveyor to visit your home to establish how much the property is worth. Do be aware that a surveyor will often value your home at a lower price than an estate agent. The whole remortgage process - from your first conversation with a mortgage specialist to starting your new mortgage contract - can take six to eight weeks. However, this should only be considered a guideline. Woolwich Switch & Save® If you're thinking about remortgaging and would like to find out what we can do for you, call our mortgage advisers on 0800 316 5500*, see our remortgaging offers or current deals for our existing customers. Customers switching from another lender can use the Woolwich Switch & Save remortgaging package with no valuation or legal costs. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Link to previous articles: Barclays Woolwich Mortgage Selector: Which Mortgage is right for me? Barclays Woolwich Mortgage: Property Ladder-2 Barclays Woolwich Mortgage: Property Ladder Checklist for Buying a Home Barclays Woolwich Mortgage FAQ Barclays Woolwich Mortgage Glossary