Buy to Let mortgage advice

Leigh Barss, 48, from North London, was an existing customer of L&C Mortgages. So when he wanted to invest in a new Buy-to-Let venture with 2 colleagues and wanted the best mortgage advice available, he knew exactly where to turn.

Leigh had done his homework on location. The property he wished to buy was near the new North East London tube line and he knew that demand would be high for rental property in that area.  He didn’t see any problem with the property, but there was one huge snag when it came to approaching lenders for the mortgage: unusually, the property consisted of 2 houses that had been laterally converted into 4 flats with no individual leases.

This made it restricted by mortgage lenders.  Leigh was also looking for a mortgage of £574,000, but many lenders would not consider a mortgage of this size for a Buy-To-Let mortgage. Leigh’s options were limited.

L&C scoured the market, determined to find Leigh a mortgage lender, and struck gold with Mortgage Express who issued an agreement in principle. But when the property went to auction, the price went sky high so Leigh withdrew. However, the auctioneers then recontacted Leigh because the buyers did not complete the purchase as they were unable to find a mortgage!

The property went to auction again and Leigh secured it for a bargain price. He opted for 2.49% fixed rate mortgage for 1 year with Mortgage Express, and set about refurbishing the property with his colleagues.

Leigh recently had the property valued: in only a matter of months, he has increased its value by £380,000!

Says Leigh: L&C provided an excellent service. The reason I always use them is because there is no commission payment from the individuals. I have recommended a number of people to L&C. Without my adviser’s help, we wouldn’t have been able to do it. Everyone else struggled to find the mortgage, but our adviser did the research and it paid off. Absolutely first class!