Intermediary News

Product & criteria changes for BTL and HPP, Broker Portal Update and a new Accountants Certificate

Following a review, we are today making a number of changes to our Home Finance products:

Buy-to-Let (UK residents, UK Expats and International residents)

  • Maximum finance to value increased to 75% (70% for £1m to £5m finance) including MUFBs.
  • The two tier FTV bandings up to 65% and up to 75% will return.
  • Minimum property value decreased to £335,000, from £385,000.
  • Minimum finance amounts remain at £250,000.

Home Purchase Plans

  • Minimum property value increased to £80,000 for UK residents and increased to £150,000 for UK Expats & International residents.
  • Minimum finance amounts have increased to £50,000 for UK residents and to £100,000, for UK Expats & International residents.

Criteria Changes

There have also been a number of important changes to the underwriting criteria of both our HPP and BTL products. These include, but are not limited to:

  • The acceptance of retained profits for self-employed income.
  • Clarity on acceptable capital raising purposes.
  • Updated credit history requirements.
  • Self-employed income verification has changed where special consideration may now be given to medical professionals with less than 12 months self-employed employment history.

The updated criteria documents for these products can be found here.

Broker Portal Update

We have created two new system flags designed to alert you if we are unable to proceed with your client’s application, relating to the following topics:

  • The Bank considers applications from a wide range of countries, however there are a limited number of countries that we are unable to accept. (A full list can be found here).
  • We also need to manage our exposure to different property types and developments across England and Wales. To do this, the Bank has implemented a postcode tool which will restrict new applications where our desired exposure in any area has been reached.

If we are unable to proceed with your application on the grounds of your customer’s residency, or the postcode of the property they wish to finance, you will now be notified at the Decision in Principle (DIP) stage.

Accountants Certificate

The ‘Gatehouse Accountant Reference Request Form’ has now been replaced by the 'Accountants Certificate'. This form verifies the income of self-employed applicants and should be completed and signed by a qualified accountant. Instructions are included within the form.

If you have any queries regarding the changes outlined above, please contact your BDM who will be able to assist you.