The rows of terraced properties that line the streets of towns and cities across the UK are one of the country’s most recognisable and best-loved style of houses.
Constructed largely in the Victorian era to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people who were migrating from the countryside to urban areas in search of work, terracing was built as a low-cost, high-density solution to the demographic changes the country was experiencing.
Today, around a quarter of the population lives nestled between their neighbours, and the terraced home is the most frequent property type with 6.93 million properties in England and Wales1.
Terraced properties are a popular choice with landlords, too. Cheap to buy, in plentiful supply and relatively easy to maintain, it’s no surprise that almost six in 10 investors have at least one terraced house in their portfolio2.
However, the release of the Clean Growth Strategy (CGS) in 2017 set out the government’s goal of ensuring that as many homes as possible have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least C by 2035. In the private rented sector, the CGS went even further by saying the preferred policy scenario is that improvements for new tenancies are achieved by 2025, and for all tenancies from 2028.
And as many terraced properties are now decades old, a large proportion of them will need to be made more energy efficient to bring them up to the EPC C target.
Fortunately, our new and improved refurbishment buy to let proposition offers a choice of three exit products and could be ideal for your landlord customers who’re looking to buy a terraced property and make the necessary improvements to bring it up to the minimum EPC rating.
If you’re not familiar with refurbishment buy to let, basically it brings together the flexibility of short-term bridging finance with the surety of an exit onto a long-term buy to let mortgage once any improvements have been finished, providing the property meets the expected valuation following completion of the work.
Our new offering includes options for landlords who’re carrying out energy efficient refurbishments, such as installing a new boiler, fitting double glazing or adding insulation, as well as those who’re refurbishing a property that already has an EPC C rating, or will be awarded one as a result of the improvement work.
We accept applications from personal ownership, limited company, HMO/MUB and limited company HMO/MUB landlords. Customers have also got the choice between serviced or retained interest payments during the refurbishment stage, and there’s also the added peace of mind of knowing that the rate on offer is the rate they’ll get at valuation.
And that’s not all. When you place a refurbishment buy to let case with Precise Mortgages, you’ll benefit from expert underwriter support every step of the way, one application which we’ll key for you and one valuer for both the bridging finance and buy to let mortgage. You’ll also enjoy two procuration fee payments, two offers issued simultaneously and one conveyancer with discounted legal fees.
Our new product shows our commitment to improving the social and environmental impact of the properties we fund, and that mean supporting landlords with bricks and mortar changes; providing tenants with ways to cut their own carbon footprints and supporting brokers to do the right thing.
To find out more about how refurbishment buy to let could benefit your customers, speak with your local business development manager or get in touch with a member of our dedicated bridging underwriting team by calling 0800 116 4385.
Sources:
2 BVA BDRC Landlords Panel Report Q1 2022 (slide 49)
