Important Information - Buy to let conditions

The products displayed on this website are available for customers opening new accounts. Customers who wish to review existing accounts or require additional funds please contact us on 0845 3002627.

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Rental Income

• Monthly rental income can be greater or equal to 125% of the monthly mortgage payment, calculated on an interest only basis at BBR+0.50% (or payrate where applicable).
• A limit of £10 million applies to Buy to Let lending across the HBOS group (Birmingham Midshires, Bank of Scotland, TMB, Halifax, & Intelligent Finance).
• The maximum lending available on each individual Buy to Let property is £1 million.
• Confirmation of anticipated rental income will be provided by the valuer as part of the valuation.
• Minimum acceptable property value or purchase price (whichever is the lower) is £40,000 (£75,000 in London postal districts).

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Letting

• The property may be let on a single assured shorthold tenancy or to a company on a corporate let.
• The maximum term is 12 months. This can be renewed without our consent.
• Where the property is not to be let immediately, or the borrower is a first time buyer, the loan will be calculated on earned income, 3.25 + 1 or 2.75 joint incomes.
• Multiple tenancies (where each tenant signs a separate agreement and/or has separate facilities) are not allowed. Maximum 5 occupiers allowed who must all be party to the agreement.
• Holiday lets are not acceptable.
• Student lets and tenants claiming housing benefit, rent rebate or rent allowance are not acceptable. Likewise Asylum Seekers and people benefiting from Diplomatic Immunity are not considered acceptable as tenants.
• If the property is in Scotland the landlord must register with the relevant Local Authority.
• The Landlord is responsible for ensuring all legislation is complied with including (but not restricted to) legislation relating to Tenancy Deposit Schemes and HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation).

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Buy to let Mortgages

These pages are for the use of those people who are resident and ordinarily resident in the UK and should not be regarded as an offer or invitation to sell Mortgage and Investment products in any jurisdiction other than the UK.

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Applicants

• Minimum age: 18 years
• Maximum age: 75 years

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Standard Income Multiples

Where the property is not to be let immediately, or the borrower is a first time buyer, the loan will be calculated on earned income, 3.25 + 1 or 2.75 joint incomes. All other criteria must be met.

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Definition of Income

100% of basic salary, mortgage subsidy, cost of living allowance, housing or rent allowance, service/state pensions and car allowance, 60% of overtime, bonus, shift allowance or commission that is regular or non guaranteed. Exclusions - travel allowance and expenses.

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Buy to Let

A minimum income per application of £25,000 is required.

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Minimum Loan

House purchase and remortgage: £25,001

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Maximum Loan

£1million

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Additional Borrowing

When applying for Additional Borrowing the product chosen must be from the same scheme as the main borrowing; the minimum Additional Borrowing is £1,000. A flexible product cannot be combined with any other product type.

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Remortgage

BM Solutions cannot remortage a property if it has been owned for a period of less than 6 months.

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Term

5 - 40 years

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Repayment Methods

Repayment, interest-only or a combination. The method(s) for repaying interest-only element must be specified.

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Life Cover

Applicant to satisfy themselves that they have made proper provision for cover. Policies will not be assigned.

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Additions to Loan

The items that can be added on to the loan amount are the Higher Lending Charge (where payable), and product fee. The maximum loan including add-ons as a percentage of purchase price or valuation (whichever is lower) must not be more than 89%. Any items added to the loan will then go on to incur interest charges.

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Changing the basis of borrowing

When changing the basis of your borrowing with us, e.g. General to Self-certification/Buy to Let/Credit Solutions, you will not be able to continue with your existing interest rate product. Your existing loan conditions may require you to pay an early repayment charge.

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Conveyancers

Conveyancers must be on the Halifax panel of conveyancers and will also be instructed to act on behalf of Birmingham Midshires.

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Fees

Valuation fees.
House purchase and Remortgage (see table below).

Valuation Fees
Purchase Price up to:	£50k	£100k	£150k	£200k	£300k	£400k	£500k
Automated Valuation Model(AVM) Fee*	£215	£250	£280	£310	£360	£410	£460
Level 1 Standard Valuation Fee**	£290	£330	£365	£405	£480	£550	£615
Level 2 Survey & Valuation Fee**	-	£510	£540	£590	£710	£840	£980
Purchase Price up to:	£600k	£700k	£800k	£900k	£1m	£1m+
Automated Valuation Model(AVM) Fee*	£500	£550	£590 (Max £750k)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Level 1 Standard Valuation Fee**	£670	£730	£785	£840	£895	Available upon request
Level 2 Survey & Valuation Fee**	£1120	£1260	£1400	£1540	£1680
The above fees include a £150 administration fee and VAT if applicable.

^*Not available for Buy to Let. For full eligibility please see criteria below
^**Buy to Let valuations are applicable to an additional charge of £25.00 in view of valuers assessing for rental income

Cases eligible for Automated Valuation Model (AVM)

• LTV (based on purchase price) is less than or equal to 85% on new loan applications.
• LTV is less than or equal to 90% for remortgages.
• Application is not packaged.
• The scheme is not Buy to Let or Ex-pat Buy to Let.
• Application type is new loan (except where the property is in Scotland or Northern Ireland).
• Application type is a re-mortgage (except where the property is in Norther Ireland).
• Loan amount is no more than £500k.
• Property is not a new build.
• Purchase price/estimated value is no more than £750k.

Further Advance Fee of £299 (to be paid up-front and is non-refundable).

If Birmingham Midshires agree to a request to change the choice of product after an offer has been made, an additional £250 administration fee will be charged.

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Household Insurance

Property will only form an acceptable security if insurance cover, under normal terms including subsidence and flood cover, is confirmed.

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Monthly payments

All payments, including property insurance premiums, must be made in sterling by direct debit through the UK direct debit system. The direct debit must be in place prior to completion.

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Deposits - Specialist Lending

The deposit for any purchase should come from your own resources. However, a builders' deposit of up to a maximum of 5% of the purchase price is allowable. Where there is a purchase at undervalue, the maximum loan will be based on the discounted purchase price. The valuer must be aware of any incentive and refer to this in the valuation report. For remortgage applications where the property was originally purchased as a New Build, customers must have owned the property for a minimum of 6 months.

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Security

First mortgage on freehold properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, feudal properties in Scotland or leasehold properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with at least seventy years remaining on the lease at the time of application. flat is part of a conversion where the total number of flats in the scheme is above 8, the valuer must confirm that the whole conversion project has been or will be completed to a high standard. Freehold flats/maisonettes are unacceptable. Residential security We require that a newly built property (or one being occupied the first time) has the benefit of a 10 year warranty from the National House Building Council or Zurich Municipal Insurance. Zurich warranty may be extended to fifteen years. The only exception to NHBC or Zurich Municipal cover is where an architect or qualified surveyor is employed by the applicant to supervise the building of the property (Certain other qualified consultants may be acceptable - please refer).

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Proof of Residence

If you are not on the voters' roll at the current address, proof of residence must be provided: e.g. bank/building society statement, credit card statement, or Council Tax statement.

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Accounts

For loans of up to £100,000, accounts provided by a bookkeeper will be accepted.

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Minimum employment period

• Employed applicants will be expected to have been employed for a minimum of 3 months in their current role, with 12 months continuous employment.
• Self-employed applicants will be expected to have been self-employed for a minimum of 12 months.

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Documentation required

• Confirmation of anticipated rental income will be provided by the valuer as part of the valuation. A copy of the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement may be requested with further advance applications.
• All existing mortgage holders / local authority tenants - Latest lenders or landlords statement.
• Buy to Let applicants who are first time buyers (not first time landlords) must demonstrate their income meets standard income multiples (3.25 + 1 or 2.75 x joint) through P60 plus last 3 payslips or latest 2 years' accounts. 3 months personal bank statements must also be provided.

Each case is considered on an individual basis. We may request additional information where considered appropriate and relevant to the lending decision.

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Maximum Loan to Values

Purchase and remortgage:

• 85% to £1million unless otherwise stated
• If you combine a Buy to Let product with a product that is available to a higher maximum loan to value percentage, the lower maximum loan to value percentage will apply to the whole loan.

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Free Remortgage Service (where applicable)

The free Remortgage Service is only available on properties in England, Wales and Scotland using Birmingham Midshires designated remortgage service through ENACT.

An additional charge will be made for any non-standard legal work including deeds of postponement, transfers of equity and registering of title. Any additional charges will be advised by ENACT to the borrower prior to the work being carried out.

Please note remortgage products offering the Remortgage Service and other incentives must be taken as a complete product and are therefore not available for properties in Northern Ireland.

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Flexible Mortgage Conditions

• We will accept a minimum of 14 days and up to 3 months' notice of your intention to use any of the features.
• A regular instruction cannot be accepted, e.g. miss every December's payments.
• Drawdown facility must be for a minimum of £25,001. There must be sufficient equity, in addition to the minimum initial advance of £25,001 to offer a drawdown facility. The drawdown facility must be taken in withdrawals of not less than £1,000.
• This mortgage is not available for stand alone further advances. Only accounts whose main loan is Flexible can have a further advance on the Flexible product. The drawdown facility will not be available on further advances.
• Secured personal loans cannot be taken on a Flexible basis.
• Further advances will only be allowed once the drawdown facility has been used up, e.g. should you have a £10,000 drawdown facility remaining and you would like a further advance for £25,000, you must use the £10,000 drawdown facility and take a further advance for £15,000. In addition, stored overpayments will also need to be used prior to a further advance being agreed.
• Flexible mortgage cannot be mixed with any other product type.
• A Flexible loan is fully portable to a new home purchase, but the drawdown facility will need to be re-assessed on each application.
• Drawdown facility is valid for three years after completion.
• You can miss two payments per rolling 12 month period subject to no arrears within the last six months and six consecutive payments have been made since taking the mortgage.
• You will receive written notification of any agreement to adjust payments/take payment holiday, etc.
• Underpayments may be made providing you have made previous overpayments, and at least six months consecutive payments have been made since taking the mortgage. You may reduce your payments until the effect of any overpayments have been eroded.
• Flexible mortgage is also available to both expatriates residing in the UK and British expatriates abroad (subject to expatriate terms and conditions).
• Overpayments, drawdown facility, drawdown of overpayments and daily interest are available immediately.
• Repayment holidays and underpayments are available after the first six monthly payments have been made (subject to terms and conditions).

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Our tracker rate mortgages are linked to Bank of England base rate (also know as Bank of England repo rate). Details of this rate can be found on the Bank of England website or in the Financial Times or other leading newspapers.

All our products are SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY and can be withdrawn at any time