Alan Lakey is partner at Highclere Financial Services
"Details of the individual purchase prices, types of property and available deposit are essential. Most lenders will be unable to work within this time-frame and, in the absence of a feasible lender, it may be that one of two other approaches is suitable.
Firstly, as a professional landlord he is likely to have a good relationship with his bank. Given the timescale, it could put together a temporary funding package to assist while he arranges formal mortgage finance. The second option involves the potential to raise funds from existing properties. An existing lender is usually able to move faster, although several further advances or remortgage may be needed to fund the purchases.
Most lenders baulk at a 15 per cent builders deposit and also have limits regarding total borrowing or property numbers. Unity allows a 15 per cent builder deposit and has reasonable terms. Other lenders with the potential to react are CHL and db mortgages."
Mark Posniak is director of sales and marketing at Cheval
"Given the time frame your client has in mind, the best, and probably the only, option is short-term bridging finance.
Traditional mortgage lenders would find it difficult to meet the seven-day deadline. They certainly would not be able to ‘guarantee’ anything. Your client needs the assurance that the money will be ready in seven days. No money, no 15 per cent discount and, in all probability, no deal.
Getting the money from a lender within 8 days is just not going to be good enough for him.
A bridger would get the necessary funds to him within a few days at a cost of around 1.5 per cent per month. All he needs is a property with sufficient equity to secure his loan against.
You do not mention the deposit that he proposes, so we are left guessing the loan-to-value that he requires. Up to 80 per cent should not be a problem and, in any case, we think that loan-to-value should be viewed in a broader context with underwriters focusing on all aspects of the loan, especially the ‘take out’ or repayment arrangements.
Your client will be charged interest at a daily rate with no early redemption charge, other than that which applies if he redeems in the first month of the loan.
As soon as the bridging is in place he will need to look to mortgage the properties with a buy-to-let lender. Bridging is ideal as a short-term source of finance, but is not designed for the long term."
James Cotton is mortgage specialist at London & Country
"With the technology available to lenders today, getting a mortgage offer issued and a transaction completed in a matter of days is no longer an impossible task. For this to happen however, it is important that all other aspects of the case stack up, for example, loan-to-value limits, rental income and the client’s circumstances.
If all this is okay, it should make processing the applications a simple job and will reduce the risk of any delays. GMAC-RFC, BM, edeus, Mortgage Express and Clydesdale would be worth considering – rate will, of course, be a factor, but speed and efficiency will be paramount. This is where a business development manager can really earn their money, working with you and their processing department to ensure everything runs smoothly.
All the legal work will need to be done quickly – the solicitor or conveyancer must be able to do it in the required time. The quicker the offers can be issued, the more time there will be for conveyancing."
