www . simplybizmortgages . co . uk 27
Paul Brett
MD Intermediaries Landbay
‘ Looking forward ’ at this time of year tends to be about predictions , and at Landbay , rather than simply look at what might or might not happen in 2021 , we just want to say that we are ready for whatever the New Year has in store for us and can ’ t wait to engage with intermediaries across the UK .
INNOVATING & IMPROVING
Since we launched five years ago , our whole ethos has been based on sound preparation , firm foundations , a commitment to put technology at the heart of our process and a willingness never to stop innovating and improving . It is doubtful that anyone is going to look back on 2020 with anything approaching affection , but Landbay is confident with the work we have done this year that our 2021 proposition provides the perfect blend of products and service for you , our introducers , and of course , your landlord clients .
The reason we are so confident is because of the steps forward we have made this year . While it has been hugely disruptive for all of us in the finance sector , we chose to use the time positively by making the business experience of working with Landbay even better for all of our customers .
I was particularly pleased that Landbay ’ s online process earned its stripes during the year . Our belief in creating a fully online experience , backed up by a professional and knowledgeable team of people , was more than justified as we were able to continue lending throughout lockdown and seamlessly maintain our service from day one , via our remote working cloud-based infrastructure .
One of our goals this year was to increase the number of funders wishing to use our platform and expertise to originate BTL mortgages . At the time of writing this article , Landbay now has three diverse funding sources which vastly improves our ability to offer the widest range of product types and guards against relying on one single source .
Our confidence in the BTL sector next year is evident in the enhancements to the service we continue to offer and the criteria upgrades we have made . These include access to free title indemnity insurance for remortgages , potentially saving landlords time and money and the introduction of an instant DIP facility to give immediate indicative acceptance . Our criteria are constantly evolving and have recently seen an increase in our maximum loan to £ 2m and new fixed rate products with 80 % LTVs .
HANGOVER
There is no doubt that 2021 will provide its own challenges and the post-COVID hangover will take more than a couple of Aspirin to cure . We expect the mini boom partly caused by the stamp duty holiday to dissipate during the first quarter with the most immediate challenge for advisers being to work closely with lenders and conveyancers on pipeline cases to enable completion before the end of March .
There is a possibility that the stamp duty holiday will be extended , but don ’ t hold your breath . Personally , I would love to see an end to this iniquitous tax completely as it acts as a brake on movement and homeownership in general .
Looking beyond Q1 , predictions are harder to make . In the BTL sector though , the demand for rented accommodation is not going to be affected by either the aftermath of COVID or Brexit . So , I can see a healthy market for landlords who want to increase their portfolios and also those landlords wishing to refinance to longer term fixed rates while funding is especially cheap .
With strong multiple funding lines , constantly evolving product offerings and our award-winning service proposition , Landbay is setting new standards in support of its BTL introducers in 2021 and relishing the opportunities that the new year will bring .