Simone Gilks (Mortgage Adviser)

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One thought is if you are sitting at 85% loan to value then could you not refinance to a lender such as Kent Reliance who will take it as a portfolio or individuals and top up with a 2nd charge lender such Castle Trust?

Of course this is assuming you are not to sell and financing is still an option.

In fact I had another client in today who has 2 ME mortgages - they are all coming for advice given the publicity, which is a good thing.... Read More

Currently I am working with several landlords who are trapped in the Mortgage Express nightmare.

How did this happen? They decided to not switch lenders but stay with ME and utilise their low tracker rate thinking that nothing would happen - but it did.

As soon as they sold one of their properties they received a legal letter stating that ME was now calling in all loans and that an estate agent would be appointed to sell the properties.

Due to the sheer nature of the letter the clients were fooled into thinking this was the only option and handed them over to sell.

Now of course my initial advice is that if you are sitting with a lender who is no longer in business such as ME (mortgage express), move and move now! Rates are at an all time low so we can look to prevent the hardship and misery that is now fallen upon so many clients, mainly Landlords.

Plus - why are you still with a lender after all this time, surely you should be looking to reinvest in other properties so capital raising is also an idea.

So, it seems to be either the Express way or the High way - don't go it alone, speak with a qualified Buy To Let Specialist here at Beauwater and give us a chance to help you.

Simone,... Read More

Having been away from the site for some time I was surprised to see the reaction to Marks post on “Naive Questions”.

I personally specialise in the Buy to Let market and work with a variety of landlords, many of them have large portfolios but it didn’t happen overnight, it took years during which time they gained their experience as well as knowledge through engaging in discussions and plenty of relevant reading.

I therefore embrace social media and the invasion of websites claiming to help those wanting to financially gain from the property market, however very rarely do I come across one that is managed by a team with such compassion and understanding of the Buy to Let Market place.

It’s all so easy to claim that one does not require any assistance and dare I say, knows it all but surely a true professional of any kind seeks to help others and share their knowledge instead of condemning those less fortunate. More often than not those landlords you see as naive are just starting out and are searching for as much information as possible.

May I suggest Mark could start the thread – Professional Landlords Question Time?

Every day is a learning day!

Simone... Read More

Dear Peter

Here is the factual reply to start with, though I must stress you shouldn't be pulled in by the big high street names as they are very limiting to say the least. I work with investors and large portfolios so I understand the need to have access to the whole of the market place but importantly not to be driven by headline rates.

***Lloyds Banking Group***

Monthly rental income must cover 125% of the monthly mortgage payment calculated at the Buy to Let affordability rate or product rate, whichever is the higher.
A £2,000,000 lending limit applies to all Buy to Let, Let to Buy and House 2 House borrowing across the Retail Division of Lloyds Banking Group.
A maximum of 3 properties applies to all Buy to Let, Let to Buy and House 2 House lending across the Retail Division of Lloyds Banking Group.
Maximum lending on each individual Buy to Let property of £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.

Hope that helps you, but please do always try and obtain relevant advice that will help you place your mortgage business correctly.

many thanks

Simone... Read More

DC

I can say that with Interbay there is NO minimum earning limit which is why its so attractive but it does have a higher rate than the others, due to probably this very factor. Risk carry's a higher rate...Maybe ?

Neighbouring property- well I had this in Cambridge the other day with a lender and they said a big fat NO because in case you knocked through both houses and turned them into one...how funny is that?

BUT - if you really want to know all of the underwriting answers we would be here for ever and I wouldn't have a job!. I did however provide property118 with the main details for this product which we receive in a pdf - the rest we have to ask.

More than happy to take enquiries and go and find things out for you...No Problem.

many thanks as... Read More

Evening Dave

Of course I can see your concerns about Interest Rates and at the moment I am finding many of my clients raising concerns on the future of interest rates - they are now considering 5 year fixed when before it was out of the question. It doesn't help when a local bank manager tells me he has put the variable up from 3.5% to 5.2% due to the possible rise on the money markets (LIBOR).

But that said, what I would like to see is you taking the correct advice from a broker and not from the internet as many of these lenders will not lend on properties under £100,000....that seems to be in the small print!

Of course you need to consider what if the rates went up, can you afford it and in fact to what point....5%, 6%, 7%.....because in my day they were at 8.5%.

So maybe do take a long term practical approach whilst the rates are low and Fix for as long as you can. But more importantly speak with someone like me first to make sure its with the right lender - one that will accept you.

Many thanks as always... Read More

Anthony, there are many great rates out there at the moment starting at around 2.49% for 60% LTV or 3.85% for 75% LTV but please do take advice first.

regards... Read More

Having read through the posts, I feel the biggest concern is the lack of advice! Surely if you are concerned by any of the points raised but SERIOUS about Investing in properties, then you should be working with an Independent Mortgage Broker, one who specialises in this field. You probably have an Accountant who gives you tax advice - so why not a broker who can advise on the various products available to you personally. We are not in the habit of selling or advising on products that do not meet your needs or that you wouldn't be able to apply for.

There are at present several lenders who offer 85% LTV on BTL both of which have quite different underwriting but unless you speak with a broker you wouldn't know that I guess - plus having 85% may not even fit as you would need to be receiving very high rents or have a low Loan To Value to make this work.

For all of you who thinks going it alone is the answer, well I disagree! I am passionate about what I do and I treat every clients case as if it was my own - I think about the bigger picture, so should you.

If you just want figures with a few facts thrown in for good measure, then the internet can do that but if you want true ethical advice from a real person who cares what happens now and in the future, then speak with a broker!

Every Day is a Learning Day!

regards
Simone... Read More

HI DC

Please do contact me if you wish to understand the criteria as I have it on my PC and of course what we don't know we can always ask -

Jamie - Of course, we sell most financial products so it would be hard not to talk about them.

many thanks... Read More

Funny thing is I have a client doing the same thing in Wales - the yields are so high Im amazed. But what I'm not too sure about is how saleable are they in the future. Its all very well getting these great income returns but it would be nice to think you will see a return on the capital.

CRYSTAL BALL? - well that would be nice, second that with making sure you enlist the help of a really good mortgage broker or specialist like my self and then a Letting Agent as they should have a very good idea on where to buy and what yields to expect.

I brought my first property for £11,000 back in the 80's.....now don't we all wish we had held on to them?

All the best and if you need any assistance or just plain old information please do let me know.

many thanks... Read More

This has already proven to be a huge success within my office, with clients enjoying only having to put down 15% deposit. This ensures that are able to spread their cash across a variety of properties as opposed to just one, spread the risk we say.

Now with a cover rate of just 110% this also means that whereby some properties rental income may not have afforded the usual lenders criteria, here they have more of a chance.

By this I mean we normally use a rate of 5% with 125% cover, which doesn't always mean that the figures stack up when purchasing a Buy To Let on a 15% deposit.

Of course this is an excellent product and may well be suited to most of you, but please do speak with a qualified and whole of market BTL specialist such as my good self as its important to have all of the facts and comparisons before making that final decision.

Please do check out my profile

Everyday is a learning day!... Read More

Working with a variety of clients in the BTL market they normally only have two opinions so - I ask the key question - is this for retirement income or for long term capital gain.

If you are looking to sell the property within a set period and look for a capital gain, then I would consider Interest Only.

If you are looking long term and wish to retire by using the property rental for income then look for repayment.

I see little use of talking about anything else - as the Meerkat says - Skimple!!... Read More

Lou and Mark, thank you for your comments and yes I would of course not refer this idea had the client been on a very low mortgage rate.

I am merely explaining the fact that there are a number of variations in which a landlord could consider keeping funds freely available for a rainy day, as one would say.

Regards
Simone -... Read More

31% of Independent financial advisers invest in residential property other than their home. Castle Trust research 2012

Housing has the highest risk adjusted returns of the major asset classes.

Over the last 30 years, housing has delivered average returns of circa 6%pa – 3%pa above inflation. halifax house price index & RPI data (1983-2013)

If i had a way of buying a couple hundred thousand single family homes [in the US]… & A way of managing them, i would load up on them. warren buffett on cnbc tv, 27.2.2012

So now we know why Castle Trust took an idea of lending us money for a share in the future values of our properties - they know that property is still considered the best investment.

This is why I have taken a great deal of time to understand how this product can help invest for the future when in fact they receive some of the share ......is it worth it!

Well given at the present time you can withdraw funds from your BTL property and then use the funds to invest in another, to me presents itself as interesting, but if they could help you invest in more properties than you first thought....well that's just down silly?.

So how can they do that? - it wont be long before Castle Trust presents us with more products to sell or advise on one of which will certainly be the BTL Mortgage Partnership which I know to be out soon.

The Partnership Mortgage will be secured via a second charge on the property during the purchase. There are no monthly repayments – the loan is repaid at redemption plus a share of the increase in the property’s value during the life of the loan.

To you this means that not only can you borrow up to 20% as an equitable loan from your current BTL property but you can then use this to fund 5% of the deposit on each new Buy To Let property, the other 20% will be by way of the Partnership Mortgage with the remaining being funded by the 1st Charge Lender.

So you first thought you could only buy 1 or 2, but now you will have the option of funding far more allowing more room for capital growth and property diversification.

SPREAD YOUR BET

Now I am not here to simplify things too much but its good you get to know that there are always ways in which to fund property acquisitions, you just need to speak to the right person.

Please read my profile - Bringing Alternative Lending to the Investor!

Simone Gilks... Read More

My god, I cant believe this though I would firstly suggest contacting the FCA as it worth mentioning that your matters have been dealt with by a 3rd party for whom you did not grant permission.

with then have the legal matters, this was clearly fraud and should be a matter for the police.

But do you know what, we are not solicitors and I understand your need for clarity and closure so I will leave it at that and wish you all the best,

I hope that you know not all financial advisors are like that and nor would they be so deceitful. A sad sad day for us all when this type of thing happens.

regards

Simone Gilks... Read More

Hi

Writing the amount of mortgage cases I do a day, the chances of down valuations are high but that's why I installed a valuation system quite similar to that used by the lenders. I quite quickly noticed that there is room for considerable errors and so I ensure that I take other precautions when trying to justify the property value the client has put down on the application, I need to know its right or.....well you know what happens!

The system does not understand if you have decorated in such a way it would make Llewelyn Bowen jealous nor would it know if your garden was designed by Piet Oudolf! it doesn't understand if you live next door to the Beckhams or the family from a Jeremy Kyle show. It just values tangible parts of the property and nothing more.

But, lenders play a part in this too by having various rules on valuing. Some lenders, when re-mortgaging will NOT instruct a survey visit and instead rely on using the Price indexed valuation system. As a mortgage broker we get to know who does this and if we really think this will be a problem, avoid them for that particular case.

Other lenders whilst they may visit the property and still down value, will NOT accept comparables despite being able to produce them. The would rather lose the deal than fall our with their surveyors - that's for sure.

So my thought would be the broker, if you don't use one then these are the things you would never know and so maybe consider getting one. They can be invaluable when looking to finance a property both now and in the future. It could well have been that advice was taken before investing in the property of applying for a mortgage with that particular lender?.

Check out my profile, I am always here to advise. If you tell me the lender I may be able to give some advice on that too.

Many thanks

Simone Gilks... Read More

One cant help being suspicious when receiving a call from your bank and lender, they are either trying to sell you something or get you to pay something off -

with over 1000 clients each having Buy To Lets, your story is now all too familiar which is why I have been reading your comments with sheer anticipation - Do you think they should have a cash reserve or pay down?

Well given that most of them are risk adverse which is why they gear themselves so high and spread the bet as they say, I doubt they would consider paying down the mortgage.

So cash reserves - I think most decent financial planners will always suggest you have some form of reserve for a rainy day but where on earth would you keep it - that's a question for an IFA I think?

Me - well I am fast becoming a fan of Buy To Let Offset Mortgages which are increasingly joining the market. This way not only can you enjoy your Interest Only mortgage and low rates, but you can offset your hard earned cash by keeping it in a current account which is attached to the loan. The balance is offset against the loan outstanding and you only pay interest on the difference, with immediate access to your cash should you need it. There is the option to pay down should you really really want to.

Thank you for listening

Simone Gilks... Read More

Evening

whilst I have already expressed my opinion I cant help notice the comments regarding legalities of the Student.

Having hosted language students for over 20 years, most of which were from the Arab states and having grown up in Dubai, I can say that they are normally most honourable and is such why they refer to their cousins or family in occupying the property or paying the rent.

In their culture it would be presumed that one man would always help another, contracts and legality aside, which is why they would not even understand your concerns.

Student Visas are the norm in Cambridge and we are quite used to this situation, so whilst I may defend their actions to a certain degree and I do sympathise with you.

I can say that what ever you do, he really just wont grasp the problem and I doubt very much he would even go to court to argue the fact.

I wish you the best of luck

Simone Gilks... Read More

Afternoon,
Given that you need to subsidise this sale anyway, I can see little point in selling it other than an emotional one.

My thought would be to hold on to it for as long as possible, as Mark said put the funds into a slush fund and continue as you are until you seen an upturn in the market value.

With regards to renting it out, you can either rent it out as one unit or as letting rooms possibly (take advice on this)? Another consideration is to approach your local Housing Association; they should be crying out for good properties, near local amenities and the will pay good rents, on time!

The property market goes around and comes around; I have been in it since the 80's and seen some scary situations. So try and hold on for the ride, at this point you have no more to lose, instead of still paying out the money and having no asset at the end of it.

Hope it all works out for you

Simone Gilks... Read More