Landbay agrees major funding deal with asset manager

Landbay has closed an additional funding deal with an asset manager worth more £300m per year, but has not revealed who the funder is.

This new deal is in addition to the bank funding deal that Landbay announced in July and the £1bn funding deal it announced in mid-2019.

Landbay now has funding for its buy-to-let mortgages from three different streams: An investment bank sponsored securitisation programme, from deposit taking banks and now an asset manager.

The entire funding deal, including due diligence, was conducted remotely with the performance of Landbay originated assets over the course of the crisis examined in detail and shown to be of high quality.

John Goodall, CEO at Landbay, said: “The addition of an asset manager as one of our funding partners is a major step to further diversify the funding of our mortgage platform and makes us probably the most diversely funded buy-to-let lender in the UK. This reinforces our ability to provide mortgages to a broad range of buy-to-let investors and their advisers. This is particularly important as we are only four months away from the end of the Stamp Duty holiday and demand for our buy-to-let mortgages is higher than we have ever seen it.

“Despite Covid-19 related restrictions getting tighter, we have had almost no disruption to working practices all year and we consistently stay within our service levels. This is due to the significant investment in technology that we have made over the last few years, which was recognised at the start of this year when we were appointed as a Tech Nation Future 50 company.”

 

More than 2.6m mortgage deferrals have been approved

Over 2.6m mortgage payment deferrals have been approved since March 2020 as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, according to UK Finance.

Some 140,000 mortgage payment deferrals were still in place at the end of October, the data shows.

The Mortgage Arrears and Possessions report reveals that the there were 74,850 homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance in the third quarter of 2020, up 5% compared with the corresponding period last year.

There were 24,860 homeowner mortgages with more significant arrears, which relates to arrears of 10% or higher of the outstanding balance.

Meanwhile, there were 5,400 buy-to-let mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance in Q3 2020, up 19% year-on-year.

Looking within this total, there were 1,350 buy-to-let mortgages with more significant arrears, representing 10% or more of the outstanding balance.

 

LMS’ Monthly Remortgage Snapshot

Remortgage market activity through October 2020 saw the average monthly payment decrease by £200, according to the latest LMS’ Monthly Remortgage Snapshot.

Some 43% of borrowers increased their loan size in October, while almost half – 49% – of those who remortgaged took out a five-year fixed rate product.

More than a quarter – 27% – of remortgagers’ primary aim when remortgaging was to release equity from their property.

Nick Chadbourne, CEO of LMS, said: “Improved house prices might be driving the rise in remortgage instructions through October, but is just a short-term bump, as the home mover market will remain front of mind for most in the industry and the economic challenges fuelled by the coronavirus continue to create uncertainty.”

Chadbourn added: “The chancellor has doubled down on his furlough scheme, and if this works and protects jobs as intended, the 2021 remortgage market may well be business as usual after Q1.”

 

MCI appoints Buckinghamshire Building Society

The MCI mortgage club continues to expand its range of specialist lenders adding the Buckinghamshire Building Society to its panel.

Following growing demand from its members, the addition of the Buckinghamshire gives its brokers more solutions for their customers during these challenging times.

Buckinghamshire Building Society products include Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor with no maximum age, up to a 40-year term, and a reverse Joint Burrower Sole Proprietor product, which allows children to help out parents.

With a limited number of higher LTV products currently available, the Buckinghamshire is also supporting this market with its Family Assist product.

In addition, it  offers 90% LTV for local residents and society members along with NHS and Emergency Workers offerings.

Melanie Spencer, Head of the MCI mortgage club, said: “At MCI Mortgage Club, we are continuously looking for lenders in the market that will offer our clients competitive products and alternatives that allow our clients to achieve their objectives.

“The addition of the Buckinghamshire to our panel gives our members access to some unique products that will enable our brokers to think outside the box.”

 

Barclays permits borrowers to let homes on Airbnb

Barclays has updated its lending criteria to allow borrowers to let their homes on Airbnb.

The change applies to both new and existing Barclays customers who are looking to lease a single room or the whole property on a short-term basis.

Barclays says short-term rentals must be arranged under a licence rather than as tenancy agreements.

Patrick Robinson, Airbnb director of public policy, commented: “We are delighted to see Barclays help mainstream hosting on Airbnb.

“Innovations like this create new economic opportunities for families and support the modern way they live, work and travel.

“The new mortgage policy will help more people share their homes and follow their mortgage terms, which is good news for everyone.”

 

Homeowners owe at least £4.3bn in mortgage arrears

A significant number of home owners are worried about paying their mortgage as a result of the financial burden during the pandemic.

According to Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK home owners owe at least £4.3bn in mortgage arrears, with 1.6 million households – or a fifth of British homeowners worried about paying their mortgage over the next three months.

Pete Mugleston, managing director of the Online Mortgage Advisor, commented: “There’s no doubt that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on household finances for many.”

“The problem is that those now looking to resume payments are facing increased job losses and further lockdowns across the country and may experience real financial hardship over the coming months,” he added. “Even if a small proportion continue to fall behind on their mortgage repayments, it could be catastrophic.”

 

TMW reduces limited company rates

The Mortgage Works (TMW) has cut rates on products within its limited company range by up to 0.25%.

The rate reductions offered by TMW, the specialist buy-to-let arm of Nationwide Building Society, applies to its two- and five-year deals.

Highlights include the 75% LTV two-year fix, which is now available at 3.19%, down from 3.39%, and the 75% five-year fix, cut by 0.25% to 3.64%. Both products are offered subject to a £1,995 fee.

Henry Jordan, director of mortgages, at Nationwide, said: “TMW offers landlords a broad range of options to meet their varying needs.

“We are making reductions to our two- and five-year limited company products to improve the competitiveness of the range.

“These reductions show our continuing support for landlords looking to manage their finances through fixed rates.”