Are you looking to remortgage your Birmingham Midshires buy-to-let mortgage? Call us on 020 7016 0790
Birmingham Midshires no longer offers existing buy-to-let borrowers new mortgage rates when they call directly, and they advise all customers to speak to a mortgage broker.
Trinity Financial mortgage brokers have dealt with Birmingham Midshires (now BM Solutions) for over ten years. We have access to their product transfer mortgages designed to lower existing borrowers' monthly payments.
BM Solutions' lowest buy-to-let two-year fixed rate for existing customers is 2.79%, providing they have 40% equity in their property. The rate increases to 2.84% for those with 25% equity in their property. Both mortgages have £999 arrangement fees.
Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "Birmingham Midshires is one of the biggest buy-to-let lenders, but it does not tend to offer its existing customers the best rates when they want to refinance.
"Many of the Birmingham Midshires customers we speak to are happy to stay with the lender because they do not want to hassle of switching providers, while others want to swap to some of the super-cheap buy-to-let mortgages on offer. The best buy-to-let rates are available below 1.2%.
"With so many cheap buy-to-let rates available, it is important landlords research the market when their rates end to ensure they are getting the best deal."
If you would like help to find a better buy-to-let mortgage, call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790. You can also complete our mortgage questionnaire.
Birmingham Midshires has a limited choice of fixed-rate mortgages available to existing customers looking to refinance on to a better deal when their rate expires.
Like other lenders, the bank pulled its existing customer product tracker transfer rates so it did not have to fund sub-1% mortgages.
Here is a list of Birmingham Midshires' existing customer rates with effect from April 2020.
Rate |
Tem |
Type |
End date |
Loan to value |
Fee |
Product code |
2.79% |
2 year |
Fixed |
31/07/2022 |
60% |
£999 |
DVTDVT |
2.79% |
5 year |
Fixed |
31/07/2025 |
60% |
£999 |
DVYDVY |
2.84% |
2 year |
Fixed |
31/07/2022 |
75% |
£999 |
DVUDVU |
3.24% |
5 year |
Fixed |
31/07/2025 |
75% |
£999 |
DVZDVZ |
Trinity Financial has access to The Mortgage Works 1.44% two-year fix and 1.79% five-year fix buy-to-let mortgages.
Both of these mortgages have a £1,995 arrangement fee and applicants will need 40% equity in their home to qualify. The lender will pay for the property valuation and legal fee to reduce the cost of switching providers.
After the fixed rates both mortgages revert to The Mortgage Works 4.74% standard variable rate and both rates have early repayment charges.
A wide range of buy-to-let lenders are offering their cheapest ever buy-to-let rates to a wide range of landlords and many of them have flexible acceptance criteria.
Birmingham Midshires made the decision to stop dealing with customers directly when they want to remortgage or switch rate years ago. As a result of this change, existing customers will need to contact brokers to avoid expensive standard variable rates.
Trinity Financial's brokers consistently arrange product transfer for landlords and the process is quick and stress-free.
As part of our advice and recommendation process, each of our brokers takes the time to speak to landlords and understand their financial situation. They confirm if they will qualify for any of the market-leading buy-to-let rates or whether the best option is to stay with Birmingham Midshires.
Trinity's brokers will never apply for a mortgage or rate switch without the express permission of clients that they are happy to proceed.
Most of the lenders have not reduced the cost of their fixed rates since the Bank of England base rate to 0.1%.
The cheapest two-year buy-to-let mortgages are available below 1.5% and the five-year fixes are priced below 2%.
One of the reasons many landlords want to stay with Birmingham Midshires is that they are earning less money than when they originally secured the mortgage. They do not think they will qualify with any of the other lenders and opt to stay with the provider so they do not have to prove their income again.
Trinity Financial has access to a range of lenders offering no minimum income buy-to-let mortgages to landlords looking to move away from Birmingham Midshires. Many of these banks and building societies provide their cheapest buy-to-let mortgages across the market and they provide a fast and cheap remortgage service.
Landlords will need to have some form of income whether it is generated from their buy-to-let property or through pension income. They will also need to declare the rental income to the taxman.
Many of the lenders have changed their acceptance policies and they are providing buy-to-let mortgage to older borrowers.
Some of the lenders do not have a maximum age limit and they are keen to attract more landlords.
The Mortgage Works is one of the larger buy-to-let lenders and it is owned by Nationwide Building Society. It has a particularly generous policy compared many of the other lenders and there is no maximum age for experienced landlords with 35% equity in their property. There is also no minimum income requirement and the rates are very competitively priced.
The Mortgage Works policy:
Minimum age | Maximum age | |
---|---|---|
Experienced Landlord applications at 65% LTV or less | 21 | No maximum age |
Experienced Landlord applications over 65% LTV | 70 at application | |
First Time Landlord applications |
When Trinity Financial's brokers are submitting a product transfer and the client has more than two years remaining on their term, it is possible to extend the term up to the oldest applicant's 80th birthday.
If the client has less than two years remaining they will need to call Birmingham Midshires End of Term team on 0800 056 2980 and go through a new Buy to Let assessment to establish whether they are eligible to extend their term.
The call is expected to last ten to fifteen minutes and broadly covers the lender's new business criteria such as loan-to-value, lease term remaining, and the applicant's income. The assessment is the same regardless of how many buy-to-let properties the customer owns.
Borrowers will either be able to extend the term up to a maximum total of 40 years or to the current maximum age of 80. If they're not granted a term extension, they will be served notice to repay their mortgage balance by the end date.
Once the term extension has been agreed it is then possible to arrange the product transfer and Trinity's brokers will be happy to help.
Trinity Financial can submit Birmingham Midshires buy-to-let product transfer applications up to 60 days prior to the existing product end date.
The product transfer will typically be processed on or within 5 days from the transfer effective date.
Product Transfers can be accepted where there have been arrears on the clients’ accounts and any Birmingham Midshires
linked accounts providing the client does not exceed the following levels and all arrears have been cleared at the point
of application.
The limits are likely to be:
• None within the last month
• No more than 1 missed payment
between 2-6 months
• No more than 1 missed payment
between 7-12 months
• No more than 2 missed payments
between 12 and 24 months.
What happens if I am in arrears?
Where arrears total more than the acceptable levels it is unlikely the product transfer application will be accepted until the account is brought within acceptable tolerances.