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The NLA's buy-to-let mortgage service

from "UK Landlord" magazine, May 2008

NLA members and buy-to-let investors can now benefit from a new free mortgage service called NLA Mortgages to source highly competitive rates for buyto let mortgages from a panel of the most popular lenders, including many schemes that are not available in the general marketplace.

NLA members who place a mortgage via NLA Mortgages will receive a minimum 0.25 per cent of the loan advance as a rebate.

NLA Mortgages

The NLA has set up NLA Mortgages so that private landlords and property investors can access a free, online facility to do their own research for good mortgage deals that work for their particular circumstances. Once they have found the deal they want, investors can apply online for the mortgage, and receive support from a free help-desk.

The service can be accessed via the NLA's website by going to www.landlords.org.uk/mortgages, and is processed by The Business Mortgage Company, a buy-to-let industry specialist that works exclusively with mortgage intermediaries and investment professionals.

The key elements of the NLA Mortgage service are as follows:

Rental calculator. The unique rental calculator enables landlords to find mortgages that fit the expected rental income. Investors type in the property value, the loan required and the expected rental income and the mortgage calculator will search for a wide range of available mortgages.

Searches can be very broad or can be tailored around a series of optional further details. For example, if you are looking for a mortgage for a property to rent to students, or you are buying through a limited company, or the property is an ex-council property, you can specify this in your search and the calculator will filter your results so that only schemes that fit your selected criteria are shown.

Results cut to fit. The calculator will display the range of schemes that fit your criteria. It will also show schemes just outside your main criteria so you can see how a different rental income or initial deposit would fit other schemes that might make better potential investments. The results will also show mortgages that are soon to be withdrawn from the market so landlords can act fast to find the best deal.

The results are detailed and can be ordered in a range of criteria, depending on what is a priority to you. For example, you can list mortgages with the lowest interest rates or arrangement fees first, and results can also be filtered so that only fixed-rate mortgages are shown, or only mortgages for a certain term are displayed.

Getting all the details. After you have analysed the results and selected a scheme, the website will set out the mortgage details, including loan requirements, lender fee, application fee, your rebate (see box) and full lender criteria, including the Early Repayment Charge and any special conditions that you should be aware of. You also have the option to save or print the scheme details for future reference.

Making an application. Once investors have decided which mortgage works best for their individual circumstances, they can download an application form, which can be filled in both online and offline, and email or post it to NLA Mortgages. The form is in Excel spreadsheet format so that it is simple and easy to use and is accepted by all lenders displayed on the site results.

NLA Mortgages will ensure that your application meets with the lender's criteria and will obtain on your behalf a 'decision in principle' that they are happy to proceed. If, for whatever reason the lender is not happy to proceed, NLA Mortgages will advise on the next steps to be taken.

Where an application proceeds as normal, NLA Mortgages will notify you with all the documents the lender requires and will instruct the valuation. If all is in order, NLA Mortgages will proceed to make the formal offer of mortgage.

Throughout the process, a passwordprotected Online Case Tracking (OCT) service will allow you 24-hour online access to securely check the progress of your applications from anywhere in the world.

And, the NLA Mortgages service provides a free help desk, manned by a specialist support team to respond to all your enquiries about applying for a mortgage.

Visit www.landlords.org.uk/mortgages to see how the new service works, or call 029 2069 5555 to talk to one of our advisors.

Rebate for NLA Members

Most lenders will pay a fee - typically 0.50 per cent of the loan value - to brokers who place mortgages with them. NLA members who secure a mortgage or re-mortgage through NLA Mortgages will benefit from a special arrangement under which NLA Mortgages will pay the member half of the broker fee it receives from the lender which, in all cases, will be a minimum of 0.25 per cent of the loan value. For example, an NLA member would receive a cheque for £375 if they take out a mortgage of £150,000 through NLA Mortgages. The rebate will be calculated during the online process, and paid to the member on completion of the mortgage.

NLA members who want to re-mortgage 5 or more properties are guaranteed 0.275 per cent saving of the loan value and should contact the help desk (029 2069 555) for more information.

The NLA will not generate income through commissions from lenders as it wants to offer its members as attractive a service as possible. The rebate offer is available exclusively to NLA members.

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