INTERMEDIARY ONLY
Buy-to-Let
Finance products for experienced landlords purchasing or remortgaging properties located in England, Wales and Scotland. Suitable for investment properties only.
Product guide
Learn about our product- 1 LIBOR: 3 months LIBOR variable rate. Currently 0.24% and resets quarterly
- 2 You can repay up to 10% of the outstanding loan balance in any 12-month period (calculated by taking the balance at completion and each anniversary thereafter) without incurring an early repayment charge.
- 1 LIBOR: 3 months LIBOR variable rate. Currently 0.24% and resets quarterly
- 2 You can repay up to 10% of the outstanding loan balance in any 12-month period (calculated by taking the balance at completion and each anniversary thereafter) without incurring an early repayment charge.
- Cases where security titles are being split or a change in the security title is required
- Incorporation cases involving a transfer by the borrower from individual to corporate ownership.
- Registered with the Law Society and has a minimum of 3 Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) approved managers (none of whom must be struck off)
- A solicitor with 2 SRA approved managers accredited with the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is also acceptable.
- Transfer of equity
- Where security titles are being split or a change in the security title is required
- Properties with more than one kitchen
- Cases where at the underwriter discretion title insurance cannot be applied
LTV | 65% | 70% |
Initial rate | 2.99% | 3.29% |
Product fee | 1.50% | 1.50% |
ICR rate | 5.00% | 5.00% |
Reversion rate | LIBOR1 + 4.59% | LIBOR1 + 4.59% |
ERC2 year 1/2 | 4%/2% | 4%/2% |
Maximum loan amount | £750,000 | £750,000 |
Small HMO (up to 6 rooms)
LTV | 65% | 70% |
Initial rate | 3.39% | 3.59% |
Product fee | 1.50% | 1.50% |
ICR rate | 5.00% | 5.00% |
Reversion rate | LIBOR1 + 4.59% | LIBOR1 + 4.69% |
ERC2 year 1/2 | 4%/2% | 4%/2% |
Maximum loan amount | £750,000 | £750,000 |
Product fees can be added to the loan and are included in our affordability calculations.
In all cases the borrower will be liable to pay all legal costs in respect of the completion of the mortgage. On instruction, our solicitors will request that payment is made by the borrower in advance and held on account.
Borrowers who take out qualifying 5-year fixed rate mortgages for standard properties will be entitled to a cashback contribution towards their legal fees (including VAT and disbursements) of £500.
The legal fee contribution is paid at Completion and any legal fees or legal undertakings that are required to be paid or made prior to completion are the sole responsibility of the Borrower(s) and will not be paid by us.
Evidence demonstrates that dual representation reduces the time to completion by an average of 15 days when compared with separate representation.
Our solicitor may be selected to act for both the borrower and us in most situations.
Dual representation is not available where applications have been made that include:
Dual representation is not available for properties located in Scotland
If the borrower wishes to use their own solicitor they may do so provided that the firm of solicitors acting for them is:
We will select our own solicitor to act for us.
We seek to apply title insurance, at no cost to the borrower, for standard property and HMO remortgage cases up to £750k, excluding:
Our standard legal fee scales are provided for guidance only. They exclude VAT and disbursements. Additional legal fees may be chargeable and will be advised by our solicitors upon instruction.
Non-title insurance cases. Purchases and remortgages
Net loan size | Separate legal rep. fee | Dual legal rep. fee |
Up to £250,000 | £550 | £700 |
£250,001 to £500,000 | £700 | £850 |
£500,001 to £750,000 | £850 | £1,000 |
£750,001 to £1,000,000 | £1,000 | £1,250 |
£1,000,001 + | Please request quotation | Please request quotation |
Please note: above fees exclude VAT and disbursements
Title insurance cases. Remortgages only
Net loan size | Separate legal rep. fee | Dual legal rep. fee |
Up to £250,000 | £450 | £600 |
£250,001 to £500,000 | £600 | £750 |
£500,001 to £750,000 | £700 | £800 |
Please note: above fees exclude VAT and disbursements
A full valuation fee will be required on submission of the application of which £150 is a non-refundable initial assessment fee. Once an initial assessment is successfully undertaken we will instruct a valuer from our panel to value the security being offered, at which time no refund will will be possible on any part of the valuation fee.
Purchase price (up to) | Mortgage valuation | HMO scale * |
£100,000 | £150 | £450 |
£150,000 | £150 | £450 |
£200,000 | £150 | £465 |
£250,000 | £150 | £535 |
£300,000 | £150 | £535 |
£350,000 | £150 | £595 |
£400,000 | £150 | £595 |
£450,000 | £150 | £655 |
£500,000 | £150 | £655 |
£600,000 | £150 | £720 |
£700,000 | £150 | £780 |
£800,000 | £150 | £890 |
£900,000 | £150 | £965 |
£1,000,000 | £150 | £1035 |
£1,200,000 | £910 | £1195 |
£1,250,000 | £910 | £1355 |
£1,500,000 | £1020 | £1515 |
£1,750,000 | £1135 | £1675 |
£2,000,000 | £1360 | £1835 |
£2,200,000 | £1420 | £3000 |
£2,400,000 | £1535 | £3000 |
£2,600,000 | £1645 | £3000 |
£2,800,000 | £1760 | £3000 |
£3,000,000 | £1870 | £3000 |
£3,200,000 | £1985 | £4000 |
£3,400,000 | £2095 | £4000 |
£3,600,000 | £1360 | £4000 |
£3,800,000 | £2210 | £4000 |
£4,000,000 | £2435 | £4000 |
£4,200,000 | £2545 | £5000 |
£4,400,000 | £2660 | £5000 |
£4,600,000 | £2795 | £5000 |
£4,800,000 | £2910 | £5000 |
£5,000,000 | £3020 | £5000 |
£5,500,000 | £3300 | £ |
£6,000,000 | £3585 | £ |
£6,500,000 | £3865 | £ |
£7,000,000 | £4145 | £ |
£7,500,000 | £4430 | £ |
£8,000,000 | £4710 | £ |
£8,500,000 | £4990 | £ |
£9,000,000 | £5270 | £ |
£9,500,000 | £5550 | £ |
£10,000,000 | £5835 | £ |
* Only applies to HMOs with 6 bedrooms or fewer.
Borrower criteria
Learn about who we lend to- £3m to £4m of borrowing: the aggregated LTV on the portfolio will be restricted with a maximum exposure on any Buy-to-Let portfolio of loans with LendInvest at a maximum LTV of 70%.
- £4m to £5m of borrowing: the aggregated LTV on the portfolio will be restricted with a maximum exposure on any Buy-to-Let portfolio of loans with LendInvest at a maximum LTV of 65%.
- Gifted deposits can only be accepted from an immediate relative, full details of whom must be disclosed
- The identification of the person(s) gifting the deposit must be satisfactorily established
- Appropriate deed of gift indemnity insurance will be required
- Only on-shore funds may be used
- A minimum deposit of 10% may be required to come from the applicant(s) personal contribution.
- Inter-family sale
- Borrower with limited or no mortgage history
- Borrowers who are highly leveraged on their portfolio/low ICR
- Personal to company where the individual ownership is changing
- latest 3 months’ payslip
- latest SA302 (HMRC) tax assessment and tax overview
- latest Signed Accounts
- Separate legal representation
- Underwriter agreement necessary
- Normally treated as a purchase
- Property must be suitable legally and physically
- Charges on part security are not acceptable
- Transfers are at full market value
- Full details of the existing portfolio, including; address, purchase date, mortgage lender, balance outstanding, monthly mortgage payment, rental income, current value, and the current assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) in place including term and start date.
- An outline of the borrower’s experience in the buyto-let or HMO market. We will reconcile and review payment history for the portfolio against credit data where available
UK individuals, limited companies and limited liability partnerships only.
Company Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code must relate to property management, investment or development.
New Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) are accepted.
0 defaults in last 5 years.
0 CCJs in last 5 years.
0 missed mortgage/secured payments in last 3 years.
No more than 2 unsecured arrears in last 3 years.
No history of bankruptcy or IVA.
Based upon the lower of the purchase price or market value. If the security property was purchased within the last 6 months, we will normally lend on the original purchase price.
LTV | Up to 75% |
Standard property | £750K |
HMO (up to 6 rooms) | £750K |
Up to 20 properties may be mortgaged with us. Our individual loan limits will apply up to £3m of aggregate loan exposure to us.
Above £3m of borrowing, the aggregated LTV on the portfolio will be restricted:
Depending on the loan size we may request a client interview.
Our loans can be used to purchase or remortgage.
If remortgaging, a valid explanation is required if the property has been owned for less than 6 months, unless this is a transition from another of our products. Remortgaging from existing Bridging Finance will be considered.
We permit additional capital raising but it must be fully declared and explained.
On all purchase cases the source of deposit must be disclosed and must have originated from within the European Economic Area (EEA). We will request evidence of the deposit.
If a limited company is purchasing the property from individual director(s) - and the full share capital of the limited company is in exactly the same name as the property - then the existing equity is acceptable as the deposit in the form of a director’s loan account.
If any element of the deposit is gifted, the following will apply:
Examples of when a 10% contribution is required are, but not limited to, the following:
Buy-to-Let offers remain valid for 90 days from the date of the formal offer. If an offer needs to be reissued after expiry this may alter the amount of the loan and be subject to additional underwriting.
An electronic verification check will be done through Equifax. If this check fails, you will need to supply a certified utility bill, bank statement or tax demand dated within the last 3 months. We can accept a drivers licence if it isn’t being used as ID verification.
PAYE: Minimum 6-months current and 12-months continuous (outside of any probationary period).
Self-employed: Trading for at least one full year and must provide satisfactory proof of income.
Where a 36-month mortgage history is not available on the credit searches we will require mortgage statements to verify satisfactory conduct. We can check these manually or through Open Banking, if permission is given by the applicant.
We will require verification of personal income in most cases. This can be done manually or through Open Banking, if permission is given by the applicant. Your underwriter will advise you if this is necessary. Acceptable income evidence should be one (or a combination) of the following:
If we are unable to verify the applicant’s bank account we will require a bank statement or bank ‘Welcome Letter’ dated in the last three months confirming the account details.
We will ask the borrower to verify their identity via the Onfido platform. They will be required to take and upload a selfie and a photo of their identification. If this check fails, you will need to follow the instructions from our Identity Documents list.
All borrowers must disclose details of their marginal tax rate to enable the correct ICR to be applied.
Only UK Limited Companies and UK Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) are permitted. SIC code must relate to property management, investment or development. New SPVs are accepted. Purchase of company share capital to acquire property is not accepted.
Full personal guarantees are required from all directors and shareholders who own at least 25% of the equity in the company.
Where there is a shareholder with less than 25% shareholding - or a director who can be defined as having a significant controlling role in the business - we will require personal guarantees and these officers to be added to the application.
Directors must demonstrate they have sufficient income to cover their full personal and Buy-to-Let expenditure. This can include income from employment, selfemployment, pensions, investments, and rental or other property income.
Director/shareholder minimum age: 21
Director/shareholder maximum age: 85 (at end of term)
Maximum number of 4 directors/shareholders/members.
LLP members must be designated.
Where multiple applications are made by the same corporate borrower each loan must be in the exact same company name. We reserve the right to require a debenture and floating charge at the underwriter’s discretion based upon our total aggregated exposure.
Where individual director(s) have interests and make applications across different Limited Company/SPV names, a debenture and floating charge will be required.
A debenture will always be required for properties in Scotland.
Any applicants via a UK limited company or UK LLP will be assessed on the basis of the strength of the director(s) as if they were applying for lending facilities on a personal basis. A condition of any offer to these entities will be personal guarantors or third-party security providers seeking independent legal advice. In certain cases, we may accept a waiver letter in respect of the independent legal advice from a borrower who is also providing a personal guarantee
Any transfer of ownership or equity will be treated as a purchase (NOT remortgage) of the new freehold/leasehold title. This includes cases involving title splits.
In all cases we will append an Offer Condition to seek confirmation that all borrowing parties have obtained their own taxation advice from a qualified accountant.
Individual to corporate
The existing equity is acceptable as the deposit in the form of a Director’s Loan Account. A transfer at undervalue (including nil value) may be considered, subject to underwriting, only where the current ownership of the property is in exactly the same name as the legal ownership of the company purchasing the asset. Issuing company shares to purchase a property in personal names is NOT accepted.
Corporate to corporate (including a LLP/SPV)
The existing equity is acceptable as the deposit in the form of a Director’s Loan Account. Any transfer of ownership from company to company (including LLP or SPV) must be a purchase at full market value. Issuing new company shares to purchase a property is NOT accepted. Separate legal representation will be required. Applicants will be liable to pay their own costs.
Trusts
LendInvest will not lend to trusts or overseas-registered companies.
Title splits
We define portfolio landlords as borrowers who own 4 or more buy-to-let properties (including the new security and any unencumbered properties).
There is no limit on the number of properties held or mortgaged by a portfolio landlord with other lenders. Properties owned abroad, and their details, will not be included within the portfolio calculations.
When the application is made we must see:
If you are submitting a portfolio landlord case, just upload their property portfolio spreadsheet to our online portal and we will do the rest.
If you are making multiple applications for the same client, applications may be duplicated within the Broker Portal. Detailed guidance is available here.
If you have another case for the same client within 6 months, we will simplify the underwriting process, with no need for a new portfolio assessment.
We will assess the overall portfolio at a notional rate of 5.5% and will apply the following approach:
Above 125%
Case can proceed.
Above 120%
If the total Portfolio LTV is below 75% the case can proceed. If the total Portfolio LTV is above 75% we’ll assess the liquidity of the portfolio. We may request additional information where relevant to support our decision.
Above 110%
We’ll assess the liquidity of the portfolio. We’ll review other assets declared by the client to ascertain if they can support servicing outside of the portfolio. We may request additional information, where relevant, to support our decision.
Below 110%
At underwriter’s discretion.
Property criteria
Learn about what we lend on- Houses
- Flats
- Maisonettes
- Apartments, including new builds
- HMO flats up to 6 bedrooms
- HMOs up to 6 bedrooms
- Flats in blocks up to 5 storeys (must have a lift if 4 storeys or higher)
- Flats up to 10 storeys are accepted in Greater London subject to valuer’s commentary (must have a lift if over 4 storeys)
- Ex-local authority flats considered if in a privately owned block (Greater London and Edinburgh only)
- Studio flats (in London only; max 70% LTV) with a minimum gross internal floor area of 30sq metres (accepted subject to underwriting & valuers commentary)
- Shared ownership
- Freehold flats and freehold maisonettes
- Tyneside/crisscross leasehold
- High-rise flats (over 5 storeys) outside Greater London
- Ex-Local authority flats outside Greater London
- Ex-MOD flats outside Greater London
- Properties in over 1 acre of land
- Properties in a designated fracking area where the valuer does not confirm as suitable security
- Property with inherent structural defects e.g. Properties built using high alumina cement, mundic block or other defective materials
- Properties with agricultural usage or other planning restrictions
- Properties above, or adjacent to, fast food outlets or public houses
- Grade 1 and A listed properties
- Mobile homes and houseboats
- Commercial property
- Properties in isolated rural locations
- Properties where the borrower is effectively both the freeholder and leaseholder unless we have a charge over both
- Properties built or significantly converted in the last 10 years without a nationally recognised warranty
- Properties located next door/ adjacent to the applicant’s residential property
- Properties that contain a flying freehold greater than 15% of the total property area
- Single dwelling with a substantially flat roof
- Flats with balcony or deck access
- Any form of non-standard construction
- Multi-Unit Freehold Block (MUFB)
- MUFB combined with HMO
- HMO 7 bedrooms or over
- HMOs let to Students
- New Build Houses or Flats (built in last 24 months)
- Flats in blocks with more that 5 storeys outside Greater London
- Flats in blocks with more than 10 storeys inside Greater London
- Flats with suspected cladding or combustible balconies
- Commercial Properties
- Properties subject to occupancy/age restriction
- Properties subject to renovation/refurbishment
- Suspected poor condition
- Properties in areas known or suspected to be subject to:
- High extreme flood risk
- Coastal erosion risk
- Ground stability issues
- Electro magnetic Fields (EMFs)
- Freehold houses only. Leasehold houses can be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Leasehold flats and maisonettes must have at least 65 years remaining on the lease at the end of the term.
- Commonhold is not accepted.
- no more than 4 units or 25% of the total units in one block of flats (whichever is lower); and
- no more than 10 properties in one postcode sector (for example, BH15 1).
- it is rented to 5 or more people who form more than 1 household
- some or all tenants share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities
- at least 1 tenant pays rent (or their employer pays it for them)
Single, assured shorthold tenancy (AST) up to 1 year or a corporate let for a longer period at the underwriter’s discretion. All tenancies must be to occupiers who will be in residence for the full period of the AST or corporate let.
We will not lend where a property is being used for owner occupation as this would be a regulated transaction. The property must be tenanted by a third party (family members are not permitted).
Where the borrower is a corporate entity, the property must not be tenanted by any Director, Sharehold, Guarantor, Employee nor any person related to them.
Prior to completion, the borrower must provide our solicitor with a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and recommendation report evidencing an energy efficiency rating of E or higher.
£150,000 London (excl. rest of UK)
£150,000 UK (excl. London)
Subject to underwriting we have a total limit of:
We may allow a borrower to exceed these limits, which are our exposure and do not relate to an individual borrower, subject to an underwriter’s approval.
In England & Wales a HMO is defined as a property rented out by at least 3 people who are not from 1 ‘household’ (e.g. a family) but share facilities such as the bathroom and kitchen.
You must have a licence if you’re renting out a large HMO in England or Wales. Your property is defined as a large HMO if all of the following apply:
Portfolio landlord who must demonstrate experience with managing a buy-to-let property portfolio over a period of at least 2 years. No first time HMO operators.
For HMOs of up to 6 bedrooms, the valuation is based upon the vacant possession comparable value only and not the investment yield. Retypes are not accepted.
£300,000 in London (excl. rest of the UK).
£150,000 for rest of UK (excl. London).
Properties being refinanced that are operating as a HMO must have all appropriate licences in place at the time of application, if applicable.
The property must meet all local authority licensing requirements prior to funds release. The borrower must obtain a HMO license, when required, to operate within 90 days of completion.
In an area where a clear demand exists, maximum number of letting rooms in any one HMO property cannot exceed 6. Valuation fees by arrangement.
Contact on yours terms
Expert human help, whenever you need itCall us on 020 3846 6838 or email us at [email protected].
Arrange a meeting with one of our field-based team between 9am - 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.
