In this article we look at buying a house during the Covid-19 pandemic and discuss how the rules have changed.

Our client Mr & Mrs C own a property in Stockport which they purchased for cash in September 2018 for £280,000 and they let the property for £1,000 per month.

They also own 2 other Buy to Let properties, one in Wythenshawe let out at £750 per month and one in Didsbury let out for £950 per month – both these properties have mortgages on them.

Both Mr & Mrs C are both in their early forties with a joint income of £60,000 per year plus rental income.

Clients wish to purchase another Buy to Let property in Altrincham & wish to raise

£183,500 for the deposit required by re-mortgaging the property in Stockport.

Clients preferred a five year fixed rate so that they could budget for their monthly mortgage payments.

buying a house coronavirus covid19

THE PROBLEM UNDER COVID 19 RULES

All Buy to Let lenders have a way of calculating what the monthly rent needs to be in relation to the amount of mortgage required and if the rent is below the required figure the amount of mortgage is reduced.

Normally lenders require Buy To Let properties to be valued by valuers actually physically visiting the property and doing both an internal & external inspection but due to COVID 19 social distancing this was not possible – this initially lead to Buy to Let mortgage applications being put on hold.

THE SOLUTION UNDER COVID 19 RULES

After researching the whole of the market Manchester Mortgages found a lender willing to lend the £183,500 required on a competitive five year fixed rate of 2.04% with a lenders arrangement fee of £995 added to the mortgage and offered a free standard valuation and free legal services through the lenders nominated solicitors.

The lender like other lenders relaxed their criteria regarding doing a physical valuation & valued the property on an automated basis ( they based their valuation on data obtained from recent sales and the amount of loan required against the value of the property ).

CONCLUSION

Our clients now have the funds available to purchase their next property in Altrincham.

SUMMARY

Manchester Mortgages remain open for business during these difficult times – lenders criteria is literally changing on a day to day basis so if you have any enquiries regarding your existing mortgage, re-mortgaging or product transfers or you are looking to purchase please – contact us on 0161 706 0242 or send us a message through our contact form on our Web page to discuss your requirements