Iain Smith, sales director at Accord Mortgages, outlined the strategy for entry into the market, which includes primarily concentrating on the smaller investor with one to three properties before furthering its proposition to include professional landlords handling a portfolio of properties.
He said: “This is part of our long-term plan and is the next progression into a market we have identified and are comfortable moving into. It’s a natural move after successfully entering the self-cert and non-conforming sectors. We have taken time to prioritise our proposition and while there is no specific date on the table we expect to move into the BTL market in Spring 2006 and are looking to take a chunk of intermediary business.”
Tony Jones, managing director at Pink Home Loans, said: “Accord is very good at listening and talking to intermediaries. These strong communication lines, especially prevalent through its broker forums, will stand it in good stead entering such a competitive market.”
John Heron, managing director at Paragon Mortgages, commented: “It is no wonder that more lenders are looking into the buy-to-let market but it needs to realise it cannot become an ‘overnight success’ in the sector. Legal, insurance and other processes are different and very specialist, and all of these factors need to be aligned before it even tries to convince intermediaries that the deals and service levels with its new proposition are good
