Accord Mortgages has improved the interest coverage ratio (ICR) and interest coverage reference rate (ICRR) for landlords remortgaging where no additional capital is being raised, as part of ongoing enhancements to its buy to let offering.
From today, the lender’s new ICR rates for brokers whose landlord clients wish to do a like-for-like remortgage are:
- 125% at a stressed rate of 4.50% for basic and zero rate taxpayers, applicable to all products
- 140% at a stressed rate of 4.50% for higher and additional rate taxpayers choosing less than five-year product
- 145% at a stressed rate of 4.00% for higher and additional rate taxpayers choosing a five-year or longer product
All the lender’s other ICR/ICRR rates remain unchanged.
Nicola Alvarez, senior manager for new propositions at Accord Mortgages, said: “We’re committed to evolving our buy to let offering to give brokers and their clients more choice. Reducing our ICR/ICRR for like-for-like remortgaging landlords to enhance affordability and potentially be able to lend more to, further demonstrates this.
“It’s the latest positive change we’ve made to our buy to let systems, processes and criteria that places us firmly as a buy to let lender, not just a lender that does buy to let.”
The intermediary-only lender has invested heavily in strengthening its buy to let propositions over the last 12 months; introducing new technology to make it easier for brokers to get lending decisions, removing minimum incomes, adding top-slicing and new-build for landlords and launching new, longer-term ERC-free products among other improvements.
