RBS launches ‘Green Mortgage’  

Royal Bank of Scotland has launched its first ever ‘Green Mortgage’ for customers.

The new product will offer a preferential interest rate to new or existing customers who are purchasing an energy-efficient property.

The Green Mortgage, which offers a discounted interest rate to customers purchasing a property with an energy efficiency rating of A or B, supports the bank’s pledge to help customers become more energy efficient with an ambition that 50% of the bank’s mortgage book is at or above EPC C or equivalent rating of C by 2030.

The new offering will be available at 60%, 75% and 85% LTV and will apply to residential homes as well as new builds.

The announcement also follows the recent launch of Royal Bank’s pilot partnership with fintech app, CoGo.

The app provides the bank’s customers with access to a tracker to calculate their carbon footprint in real time based on their spending habits, while offering curated suggestions for how they can reduce their environmental impact with the option to offset emissions.

Miguel Sard, managing director of home buying and ownership at NatWest Group, said: “We want to help home buyers to make greener choices, particularly as properties make up 15% of the UK total climate emissions and one of the core parts of our purpose as a bank is to help address the climate challenge.

“Our customers are increasingly interested in purchasing energy efficient homes and by offering those customers a lower mortgage rate, we want to have a positive impact on the environment. This is just one of many ways Royal Bank is supporting and encouraging greener choices.”

 

Paragon re-enters the student market

Paragon Bank has resumed accepting applications on buy-to-let properties that are, or will be, let to students.

The specialist buy-to-let mortgage lender is offering a range of two-year and five-year fixed rate options, available on HMOs and multi-unit blocks.

A 70% LTV range starts at 3.05% over two years, increasing to 3.44% when spread over a five-year term.

For landlords looking for 75% LTV products, Paragon offers a rate of 3.35% on a two-year fixed rate and two five-year choices are offered at 3.74% and 4.2% respectively, both with £350 cashback.

Two-year mortgages incur a 1% fee and 2% is charged on five-year deals. A free valuation is included with these products.

Moray Hulme, Paragon director of mortgage sales, said: “We are pleased to have re-entered the student market, offering intermediaries some strong products that we feel are well suited to meet the robust demand we are currently experiencing.

“We wanted clarity on whether students would return for the 2020/21 academic year, which they have done even if lectures are being held remotely.”

 

Accord’s limited edition 90% LTV offer ends today

Accord Mortgages’ limited release of its 90% LTV products, which was launched on Monday for a three-day period, will end today.

The two home purchase products, available to both first-time buyers and those wanting to move home, will be withdrawn at 8pm.

The first of the two five-year fixed rate deals is available on loans up to £500,000 at 3.79% with £995 product fee and free valuation.

The other five-year fixed rate product, available at 3.89% at 90% LTV with £995 product fee and free valuation, is offered for loans ranging between £500,001 and £600,000.

Jeremy Duncombe, Accord Mortgages’ director of intermediary distribution, said: “We’ve had a positive response to our previous releases for first-time buyers, but we know there is a need to support a broader range of purchase customers and for products to be available for a longer period of time.”

He added: “After this pulse, we’ll assess the impact of the products and the competitive conditions before returning again when we can.”

 

Landbay launches two new products

Landbay has today launched two new buy-to-let products, both available at up to 75% LTV, fixed for five years.

The first of the new products offered by the buy-to-let lender is a five-year fixed rate at 3.55% with a free valuation and a maximum loan size of £525,000, available on properties up to £700,000.

The second five-year deal is available at 3.55%, but it has a higher maximum loan of £1m.

Paul Brett, managing director of Intermediaries at Landbay, said, “It is a testament to Landbay’s confidence in the buy-to-let market that we can continue to lower our interest rates once again. This will be very welcome news to intermediaries as it will help their clients to make the most of the burgeoning buy-to-let market. There is still strong demand from professional landlords who are taking advantage of the savings from the stamp duty holiday to increase their portfolios.

“The recent Bank of England statistics showed the housing market is hitting heights not seen since 2007 and buy-to-let properties are amongst some of the most solid investments available at the moment.”

 

Pepper Money introduces new range of 85% LTV products

Pepper Money has launched a new range of residential mortgage products available up to 85% LTV.

The new deals, introduced with free valuation and no completion fee options, will be available on its Pepper 48, Pepper 36 and Pepper Light ranges.

Also available up to 85% LTV is a range of new 30-month fixed rate products, with rates starting from 4.59%.

Pepper Money’s sales director, Paul Adam, said: “At Pepper Money, we continually work with brokers and customers to understand what steps we can take to better meet their needs. It’s clear there’s huge demand for lending at higher LTVs at the moment and so we’re really happy to be able to launch these products that open up the 85% LTV market for customers who have experienced credit issues.”

 

New online search engine for development finance launches

Brickflow, the UK’s first online search engine for development finance loans, has been officially launched.

The property technology platform aims to revolutionise the property finance sector by digitally connecting borrowers and lenders.

Available online, Brickflow’s technology offers wide market visibility and provides instant access to 18 lenders at the moment, with all applications made online and in real-time.

Applicants are able to build out their developer track record and securely upload supporting documents.

Brickflow allows developers to showcase themselves and their individual projects on one platform, as well as invite lenders to log in and assess the loan opportunity.

Brickflow aims to complete all development loans within six weeks if required, rather than the average of up to six months via traditional channels.

Ian Humphreys, Brickflow’s co-founder and head of lending, said: “It’s well known that the UK has a severe housing shortage and a major reason for this is the challenge many developers face in accessing the best finance for their needs. We aim to solve this challenge by shaking up the development finance market and bringing lending online.

“Brickflow makes development finance more accessible to developers and their advisers, while at the same time empowering all market stakeholders to work smarter by digitally sharing trusted data and knowledge.

“By combining extensive market knowledge, the best digital technology and the efficiency of a comparison site, we are offering a revolutionary new way to secure development finance for everyone.”