West One provides pragmatic approach to £2.9m BTL portfolio
Specialist lender, West One Loans has successfully completed a £2.9m, complex buy-to-let loan. Working with a landlord who already had outstanding mortgage balances of £7.3m, West One provided finance to purchase five standard residential properties and three houses in multiple occupancy (HMO) properties.
The eight properties were owned in the borrower’s personal name and the requirement was to transfer them into the limited company that had been formed to hold the portfolio. There were two other lenders also supporting the clients move from personal to limited company structure, benefitting from the portfolio incorporation relief rules.
“When it comes to financing large complex buy-to-let portfolios, selecting the right lender is crucial.” Explained Andrew Ferguson, Managing Director for the buy-to-let division at West One.
“For complex cases you need a safe pair of hands and at West One our individual approach to underwriting means that we review each case on its own merits, ensuring we support clients to secure the purchase or remortgage that they require in a smooth and timely fashion.” He added
The ability to take a pragmatic and manual underwriting approach enabled West One to overcome some adverse credit registered on the borrower. During the application the client was able to get the adverse removed.
Due to the personal tax liability associated with the portfolio, it made financial sense to move the properties into a limited company structure for more efficient tax planning. The client had taken appropriate advice from professionals and was able to utilise the incorporation relief process, allowing the transfer to take place without the need to pay stamp duty or Capital Gains Tax on the transfer.
West One’s underwriting and business development teams worked closely with the broker to ensure this was an agreeable plan for the borrower. All parties remained in close communication and the deal was processed quickly and effectively thanks to the team’s expert knowledge of large complex portfolios and a strong broker-lender relationship.
The borrower and broker were both particularly pleased with how West One handled the case, with the broker, Brian Green from Mortgage Xperts saying: “We’ve been very impressed with the efficient and logical underwriting from all of you guys and I can assure you that many more cases will follow.”
The client has subsequently returned to West One with a further 12 enquiries, two of which have now proceeded to offer stage.
This case study highlights how West One’s flexible approach ensured the lender could support a large portfolio landlord in a complex situation.