Buy to Let
Metro Bank moves into specialist lending
The challenger bank has relaxed criteria on its buy-to-let range to make the deals more attractive to landlords
Metro Bank has improved its buy to let stress rates and lending criteria as part of its move into offering more specialist mortgages.
The bank has reduced its stress test rate on five year buy-to-let mortgages, from 5.5% to 4.5%, given the longer term nature of the product, which makes it more accessible to landlords.
In addition, the maximum age for a landlord at the end of their term has been increased from 80 to 85. The bank said it has made this decision to help more borrowers who may want to continue using a buy-to-let property to help with their retirement planning.
The new changes add to Metro’s existing range of buy-to-let deals and offer greater flexibility than before.
Charles Morley, director of mortgage distribution at the Bank, said: “This is an important first step on our specialist mortgages journey.
“Our buy to let range is now more flexible than ever before with a truly specialist offering that provides the full range of options for borrowers, many of whom are struggling to get a mortgage due to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have plenty more planned over the next 12 months as we embark on our mission to become the UK’s leading specialist mortgage lender, offering products as individual as our customers are.”