AccordDec 7 2016

Accord scraps processing fee for landlords and slashes rates on range of fix deals

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Accord scraps processing fee for landlords and slashes rates on range of fix deals

Accord Buy-to-Let has reduced rates on fixed rate deals and scrapped the processing fee on all applications for landlords.

Highlights include a two-year fix, which is now available at 1.59 per cent to 60 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) for remortgaging landlords and those looking to expand their portfolio. The mortgage comes with a £1,995 product fee. A three-year fix to 60 per cent is now priced at 2.19 per cent with a £950 product fee. The five-year fixed equivalent comes with a rate of 2.64 per cent and a £950 product fee.

Both deals are available to landlords who are remortgaging, and come with free standard valuation and free legal fees. Also, buy-to-let mortgage applications no longer incur a £130 processing fee as of 30 November. Accord removed the processing fee for residential mortgage applications in October. 

In November, the residential arm of the intermediary-only lender, which is part of Yorkshire Building Society Group, introduced an extra £500 cashback initiative for first-time buyers when they complete on a mortgage.

The deal applies to borrowers completing mortgages at 90 per cent or 95 per cent LTVs which will be eligible for the extra cashback. It will be applied on top of all other existing incentives for the specific mortgage they choose, with the largest cashback amount they could receive reaching £1,250.

Provider view

Chris Maggs, Yorkshire Building Society’s Buy-to-Let Commercial Manager, said: “While all our products remain very competitive, the reductions to some of our lower LTV fixed-rate mortgages give landlords with 40 per cent or 35 per cent deposits a choice of some highly competitive deals. We hope these will appeal to brokers and landlords looking to get the most from a mortgage.

“To reflect the changes we have made to our residential products, we have removed the mortgage application processing fee on all BTL [buy-to-let] mortgages. We hope this will help landlords to limit the upfront costs of getting a mortgage, plus give them the confidence that they won’t have to pay any product fees until the mortgage has completed.”

Adviser view

Commenting on the two-year fix, Kevin Dunn senior partner/mortgage and protection adviser at Leicestershire-based Furnley House, said: “The rate is good. Landlords are not necessarily looking for the products with the lowest fees. We would select a mortgage that is the least expensive over the fixed term – taking the product fee and rate into account.

“Interest rates are frighteningly competitive at the moment, which is a good thing for investors, but buy-to-lets have become less attractive following the rise in stamp duty to 3 per cent. Higher-rate landlords especially have had a hard time. The tax relief they claim on their buy-to-let properties has been slashed to 20 per cent from 40 per cent, and 45 per cent for top-rate taxpayers.”

Mr Dunn added: “People still value buy-to-lets. The landlord label still holds prestige in this day and age, even though some of the gloss of owning a property has been rubbed off.”

Charges

Ranges from £950 to £1,995

Verdict

Industry providers have continued to hack at their respective mortgage rates following a significant deceleration in marketplace activity. Whether this trend is likely to continue remains to be seen, but it is difficult to envisage given the pressure the practice places on profit margins.

Government policy, at present, appears to pander towards the plight of individuals struggling to get onto the ever elusive property ladder – with the advent of initiatives such as the Help to Buy Isa. Whereas, as Mr Dunn quite rightly mentions, landlords have been buffeted by the hike in stamp duty and the reduction in buy-to-let tax relief. The scrapping of the wear-and-tear tax also does not bode well for landlords.