Saffron Walden Building Society has launched two specialist mortgages, one for those who wish to refurbish a buy-to-let property, and one for landlords who own properties in the UK but live abroad.
The two five-year fixed rate deals are priced at 4.97 per cent for the expat mortgage and 4.77 per cent for the light refurbishment mortgage.
The refurbishment mortgage allows landlords to do three months of work on a property before letting it out.
The expat mortgage, for UK nationals living abroad, has no country restrictions on where they are living.
It has an arrangement fee of 2.5 per cent, and an early repayment charge of 3 per cent.
The maximum loan-to-value is 65 per cent.
The buy-to-let product has an arrangement fee of 2 per cent and a maximum loan-to-value of 75 per cent.
Anita Arch, head of mortgage sales at Saffron Walden Building Society, said: “Our specialist buy-to-let products not only feature attractive fixed rates, but also accommodating criteria.
"For example, there are no country restrictions on the expat product and the light refurbishment deal enables landlords to purchase or remortgage property and make alterations before the property is let out.
"Additional funds can also be released after a satisfactory re-inspection and confirmation of improved end-value and rental income.”
David Hollingworth, mortgage broker at London & Country, said although the deals were more expensive than regular buy-to-let mortgage, which are available at rates below 3 per cent, customers often struggled to find deals if they wanted to refurbish a property or were expats.
“Most lenders want to see a property in lettable condition, but landlords may have visions that do not encompass that,” he said. “Similarly many lenders won’t even look at you unless you live in the UK, especially if there is a foreign currency earnings issue to deal with as well.”
He added that other lenders dealing with expats included the Family Building Society.
