Your guide to BM Solutions for intermediaries

Can’t find the right mortgage solutions for your clients? Try BM Solutions for intermediaries. They might just be what you’re looking for. Read on to know more

By Kath Villamayor

08 Oct 2024

Contents

Get to know BM Solutions for intermediaries
How can BM Solutions help intermediaries?
Eligibility criteria set by BM Solutions for intermediaries
BM Solutions for intermediaries offers ‘top slicing’
Why should you work with BM Solutions for intermediaries?

Intermediaries in the United Kingdom have a collective goal of helping eligible borrowers connect with banks or mortgage lenders. They provide support and guidance especially for clients with complex situations. Mortgage brokers use their knowledge and connections to find the best mortgage options so that aspiring home buyers will fulfill their dream of owning their first home.

By partnering with banks and mortgage lenders that offer competitive mortgage products, intermediaries can have access to a wide range of mortgage options. Having access to various property loan solutions will help you in providing service to all types of clients and get fair interest rates.

With this, working with trusted mortgage providers is a smart move. You should consider searching for lenders that are bent on providing mortgage solutions to address the specific needs of every borrower.

And one example of these lenders is BM Solutions for intermediaries.

In this article, Mortgage Introducer will talk about BM Solutions for intermediaries and help you decide if it is a good mortgage provider to partner with. We will highlight some of the mortgage tools that they offer as well as their eligibility criteria. Want to check if your clients meet the requirements that BM Solutions has? Read on and find out if this mortgage lender is the right one for them.

Get to know BM Solutions for intermediaries

BM Solutions for intermediaries is the intermediary-only arm of Birmingham Midshires, a division of Bank of Scotland plc. Birmingham Midshires was initially a building society called the Birmingham Midshires Building Society before becoming part of the Lloyds Banking Group.

Background of Birmingham Midshires

In 1999, Halifax plc took over the Birmingham Midshires Building Society. After two years, the HBOS plc was created as a holding company for Halifax when it merged with the Bank of Scotland.

Birmingham Midshires then became a division of the Bank of Scotland in 2007 after a reorganisation within the HBOS Group. A year later, the HBOS was taken over by Lloyds Bank, a subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group.

So, why is this important to understand?

In 2005, Birmingham Midshires made an announcement that they plan to close 48 of its 67 branches. According to Birmingham Midshires’ old website, they are now closed to new and existing customers for savings and to new customers for mortgages. As of July 2024, all Birmingham Midshires savings accounts have been closed.

Is Birmingham Midshires still operating?

Yes. The remaining branches will operate under the Halifax brand. As for BM Solutions, it operates online and has a ‘for intermediary only' website.

BM Solutions for intermediaries is also the Buy to Let brand of Lloyds Banking Group. It focuses on traditional Buy to Let and small to medium-sized portfolios. BM Solutions for intermediaries prides itself on their award-winning mortgage products and top-tier services.

Following most lending institutions in the UK, BM Solutions for intermediaries is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

How can BM Solutions help intermediaries?

Intermediaries can guide their clients better through each mortgage transaction and secure excellent deals with BM Solutions. They can also browse BM Solutions' tools and guides with ease on their online portal. Here, they provide support for intermediaries such as:

mortgage product finder
mortgage application submissions
integrated document upload process
business development manager or BDM contact page

Intermediaries can also explore these additional resources from BM Solution’s website:

mortgage criteria
mortgage fees
downloadable forms

Affordability calculators

Three affordability calculators can be used by intermediaries when they work with BM Solutions. These are:

1. Rental income calculator

This can be used to calculate the maximum amount of capital that your clients can borrow to purchase or remortgage their property.

2. Portfolio calculator

This can be used to check the existing portfolio of your clients who are landlords as well as their eligibility for new applications under BM Solutions for intermediaries’ Portfolio Landlord criteria.

3. Rate change calculator

This can be used to find out how your clients’ mortgage repayments will be affected by any changes in the Bank of England’s base rate.

Want to know how to maximise the usage of affordability calculators? Watch this clip on how to use online mortgage affordability calculators:

Aside from these affordability calculators, BM Solutions for intermediaries can assist mortgage brokers in the UK with their simple but effective mortgage processes and competitive broker-centric products. They can also work with the UK’s leading mortgage brokerage firms. You can find some of them on our list of top mortgage intermediaries.

Eligibility criteria set by BM Solutions for intermediaries

Here are some of the requirements that your clients must meet to secure a home loan with BM Solutions:

age
residency
income
lending limits
required documentation

Let us further discuss each criterion set by BM Solutions for intermediaries below:

1. Age

The minimum age requirement is 21 years old. The eldest applicant must submit the mortgage application before their 75th Birthday.

BM Solutions for intermediaries will not allow home loan applicants, whether first time buyers or Buy to Let landlords, who are above 75 years old at the time of submission. The same is true for those who will be 80 years old at the end of their mortgage term.

2. Residency

All mortgage applications from applicants who are UK nationals will be accepted. Applications for those who are non-UK or non-Irish nationals and have less than five years continuous residence in the country must provide evidence of permanent right to reside.

If not, their application will not be accepted.

3. Income

There is no minimum amount required as income for BM Solutions for intermediaries’ mortgage applicants. However, your clients must be registered for UK tax if they wish to secure a home loan. Their source of income must also be within the UK.

To show evidence of your clients’ income, pay slips must be submitted, and they should have the following details present:

applicant’s name
employer's name
pay date
basic income, gross and net pay
any additional payments

4. Lending limits

BM Solutions for intermediaries have a lending limit amount of £3 million which applies to the following mortgage products:

Buy to Let mortgages
Let to Buy mortgages
Consent to Let mortgages
Second Home loan
House 2 House borrowing

There is also a maximum loan requirement available on individual properties. This is calculated at £1 million for a mortgage with 75% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. The loan requirement for mortgage with 65% LTV ratio is £2 million, including New Build properties.

On the other hand, there is no variation in LTV limits for flats. The minimum loan amount set by BM Solutions for intermediaries for all mortgage products is £25,001.

5. Required documentation

Before applying for a home loan with BM Solutions for intermediaries on behalf of your clients, make sure that you already have the following documents:

proof of income
proof of deposit
proof of gross monthly rent
identification documents

To verify the rental income submitted on the Property Schedule screen of the mortgage application, a tenancy agreement or letter from the letting agent may be used.

Proof of identification

BM Solutions for intermediaries will accept any of the following proof of identification:

UK photo card driving licence
UK passport
some EU or EEA identity cards
some non-UK passports

BM Solutions for intermediaries offers ‘top slicing’

First, what is top slicing? This is when mortgage providers allow aspiring home buyers to combine their personal income along with their rental income from a Buy to Let property to secure a mortgage. A top slicing mortgage is used when the rental income from the property is not enough to fully cover the repayments of the Buy to Let mortgage.

BM Solutions for intermediaries allows top slicing for clients who failed to meet the necessary amount in their required lending. It is used when the rental income for the BTL property is not enough in terms of BM Solutions’ standard rental cover ratio (RCR) calculation.

How to get BM Solutions’ top slicing mortgage

Do you have clients who might be interested in applying for top slicing mortgage solutions with BM Solutions? Here are the steps to take:

Complete the BM Solutions online calculator and calculate standard RCR calculation online.
The calculator results page will be updated to reflect any new borrowing amount once the top slicing additional data fields have been completed and calculated.
Submit application via BM Solutions online.
All top slicing applications will require proof of income to be submitted and verified.
Once income and expenditure has been verified and successful valuation has been completed and returned an offer will be produced.

If an application for top slicing mortgage has inconsistencies in the applicant’s submitted information, extra details might be requested. Also, if there are any changes to the application, BM Solution for intermediaries might offer a different amount than the previous ones. A reassessment will also be made.

To learn more about Buy to Let top slicing mortgages in the UK, watch this video about the pros and cons of this type of mortgage:

Why should you work with BM Solutions for intermediaries?

Mortgage brokers in the UK will find it beneficial to work with BM Solutions for intermediaries due to its straightforward and efficient mortgage processes. For intermediaries seeking easy but guaranteed solutions for their clients, BM Solutions is an excellent choice.

With competitive rates and reliable support, this mortgage lender helps intermediaries excel in their career while providing top-notch service to their clients. Another great thing about choosing to work with BM Solutions for intermediaries is the assurance that you will be prioritised. Their mortgage applications are hassle-free and uncomplicated.

Finally, BM Solutions for intermediaries can cater to your clients’ unique circumstances and propose tailor-made property loan solutions to address their mortgage needs. However, if you want to widen your options, we have guides to other mortgage lenders with intermediary-centric platforms.

Check out what these mortgage lenders can offer and see if they might suit your clients’ preferences:

What do you think about this guide to BM Solutions for intermediaries? Is it helpful? Let us know in the comments section below

Your guide to BM Solutions for intermediaries