Tony Fullbrook, policy and regulatory manager at Barclays and Paul Darwin, head of intermediary relationships at Skipton Intermediaries, were both briefing brokers on how the lenders plan to implement the Mortgage Credit Directive at the Mortgage Business Expo 2015 in London’s Barbican Centre this morning.
Fullbrook said: “We will use our standard application process but we will be adding some additional up front questions to categorise consumer buy-to-let or not.
“We will be applying the changes to the whole of buy-to-let, not just consumer buy-to-let.
“There is no need for you or your customers to choose the status. We will be choosing that from the questions you put into our systems. You will get the same underwriting and the same products.”
Skipton will also alter its application practice, as Darwin explained: “We’ve got a decision tree which helps you make that decision. If you follow that through there’s five questions and the outcome of those questions will determine the regulatory status.
“Questions include whether it’s a purchase or a remortgage or whether you’ve a first-time landlord or not and depending on whether it’s a yes or no you will go down a decision tree that says this is a buy-to-let or a consumer buy-to-let.”
When deciding whether the client can be exempt from consumer buy-to-let regulation Fullbrook said the key issue is whether they have ever, or plan to, live in the property. If they have lived in the property they secondly have a “get out clause” if they already own a buy-to-let.
Darwin told delegates that Skipton will host roadshows on the MCD in the months ahead. He said: “Be aware of MCD. Speak to your distributors. Speak to your compliance people and make sure you have that knowledge.”
