Ian Bates, head of marketing at BoI, admitted the sector is an important part of the lenders offer and had made strides to improve it. He said: “We revised the BTL nominal calculations for the discount rates, as the 6.50 per cent we were operating on was not competitive. 5.70 per cent is a lot more competitive and matches what other lenders are offering in the market. We felt the rates needed to be adapted.”
He added: “It’s early days, but broker feedback we have received has been very good and the take up has been steady so far.”
James Cotton, mortgage specialist at London & Country, agreed the lenders decision to change the nominal rates on its products had moved it in line with its competitors. He said: “BoI’s decision is a good one and matches what other lenders are providing. Many lenders are reducing aspects of their BTL criteria, be it reducing the percentage required or the nominal rates. A lot of people are now choosing to base it on pay rate as well.”
He added borrowers needed to be aware of their budget when considering BTL, and said: “As long as borrowers are not getting into too much trouble with respect to what they can afford and are not cutting it too fine with what they are charging for rent, then the BTL market is a good market.”
