Meet Sheryl Kirk, head of sales at TBMC
Tell us a bit about your business.
TBMC are a specialist buy-to-let (BTL) broker with over 30 years in the market. We help brokers place complex BTL cases and can provide support with anything from a straightforward vanilla BTL, right through to more complicated and specialist scenarios.
We are completely independent, with access to over 45 lenders, and help DAs and network ARs with their BTL cases.
The types of cases we typically help place are Ltd. companies, portfolios, HMOs, multi-unit freehold blocks, holiday lets, ex-pats and foreign nationals.
Where are you based and where do you operate geographically?
TBMC are based in Cardiff, but we help brokers across the whole of the UK. With the new way of working, using both Teams and Zoom, it means we can help even more brokers than before and we can take enquiries over the phone, email or meet on Teams/Zoom.
What are the main issues impacting your local market?
In the South West house prices have increased due to the availability of property, particularly in Bristol where properties are at a premium and supply is low for those looking to invest. There can be several landlords bidding on one property and often it will go well over asking price, which can impact the rental yield.
What challenges are you facing as a broker?
The lender rate changes in the current climate are making it challenging to keep up with. Lenders can also take longer to process applications so landlords are understandably under pressure as a result of these delays.
What are the main opportunities for brokers in your area and nationally?
Although there are challenges impacting the South West, it is an area that has seen some of the fastest growth in BTL and is an attractive area that more landlords are looking to invest in.
Between the high student population, along with the boom of staycations, as well as professional tenants, there is strong demand across all types of properties. This presents a great opportunity for landlords investing in the region.
Many other areas across the UK are also becoming more attractive to landlords. With many people now working from home, there is less of a focus on purchasing within a city and purchasing in more rural areas is becoming popular, helped by the lower purchase prices that can be seen in these locations.
What could lenders do to help further your business?
We would love more notice of rate changes, helping us give our brokers and clients the best possible chance of securing their chosen rate. It’s also incredibly important to build strong relationships with our lenders – this can make a huge difference to both sides when it comes to understanding and working together.
What sets you apart from the competition?
At TBMC we don’t muddy the waters by dealing with all types of lending – we focus on our area of expertise, which is BTL. This means we know everything there is to know about BTL, and we love to share our knowledge and expertise in this area!
We don’t charge fees based on the size or complexity of a case – there is one flat fee, and this isn’t charged until a successful DIP has been received so a client can be confident the case has been agreed. We have over 30 years’ experience behind us and there are very few cases we can’t place.
In addition, we often have access to semi exclusives as a specialist BTL distributor and we pride ourselves on the strong relationships we have with lenders’ underwriters and decision makers.
We also provide regular training sessions with brokers, helping to build their knowledge in this very specialist market and enabling them to place complex BTL cases with confidence.
How should potential borrowers contact you?
We can be contacted by phone, email or through our online enquiry form.
Phone us on 02920 695400 or email us on [email protected]
We can also be contacted on our enquiry form here: Contact | tbmc
