Here at Foundation Home Loans we classify ourselves as a specialist lender but what does this title really mean?

Buy-to-let is now widely considered to be a well-established part of the lending furniture. It plays a major role in the general UK housing market and with so much activity, volume and demand there could be an argument to suggest that this is more of a mainstream product rather than one which sits in the specialist lending box. Especially when you consider that a growing number of mainstream lenders have a dual mainstream residential and BTL offering, which leads to the question – what are the benefits attached to dealing with a specialist BTL provider?

In simple terms we are experts in all types of BTL lending and not just the more vanilla end of the market which supplements the vast majority of mainstream offerings. The more complex and detailed underwriting requirements of portfolio and limited company offerings continues to make it difficult for mainstream lenders to have the capacity or expertise to extend their portfolios into the more professional end of the BTL sector. And this is where specialist BTL lenders really come into their own.

The emergence of more flexible, specialist lenders has generated a variety of solutions and offer additional value for larger scale landlords. They have also served to challenge the price discrepancy that once existed in limited company lending to ensure that it is hardly noticeable, or at least very slim compared to what it used to be. The result being a plethora of highly competitive BTL options which were simply not there a matter of 18, 12 or even six months ago, served by lenders whose proficiency in the buy-to-let sector is unparalleled.

Although it is not without its challenges. We all know that additional regulation and tax changes has created an additional layer of complexity throughout the market. These policy shifts highlight how important it is for landlords to deal with specialist advisers and lenders who can assess cases on an individual basis and find a pathway through any complications. The BTL underwriting process is one which has gone far beyond a tick-box approach and it’s important for intermediaries to realise which lenders incorporate such flexible underwriting values.

At Foundation, we are seeing strong demand, particularly from landlords utilising and limited company structures to house their portfolios, and we are set up to support their activities and ensure advisers and clients do not have considerable administrative burdens to overcome when securing this type of finance. And we would urge all advisers active, or looking to be more active, in this space to contact their packager to access our product range.