Leeds has expanded its range of buy-to-let cashback deals to help borrowers who want to choose their own conveyancer.
The £500 cashback option is now available on the 2.45 per cent two-year fix at 60 per cent loan-to-value (LTV), the 2.8 per cent two-year fix at 75 per cent LTV, the 2.74 per cent five-year fix at 60 per cent LTV and the 3.25 per cent five-year fix at 70 per cent LTV.
All of the products come with a free standard valuation and no completion fee.
The move follows criticism from brokers frustrated by long remortgage turnaround times due to conveyancing delays.
In July, Nationwide ditched free legals on remortgages and increased the cashback alternative from £250 to £500 after conveyancer Breezeplus came under fire for holding up applications.
Jaedon Green, Leeds Building Society’s director of product and distribution, said: “We’ve listened to brokers and have introduced these latest cashback products in response to the ongoing pressures within the remortgage conveyancing market.
“By offering £500 cashback, we’re giving brokers and their customers the option to choose their own conveyancer, which could speed up the process.”
Tony Silver, director at London-based White House Mortgages, commented: “It is a good idea. The standard of the direct conveyancing that the lenders have been using in the past are atrocious.
“The £500 cashback is nice: it doesn’t pay for the solicitor, but it goes towards it. These extras don’t really come into the equation when you are trying to find the lender – it is more the criteria being used at the moment.”
simon.allin@ft.com
