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HMO Mortgage – Customer Feedback

“It has been an absolute pleasure working with you. The only part in the purchase process that has been straight forward.” Richard-London based investor

AST Template

Did you know the government have a recommended tenancy agreement for landlords to use which is updated in line with legislation? Find it here

Proof of Income for professional landlords

HMRC are no longer issuing the SA302 (otherwise known as the Tax Calculation) or the Tax Year Overview by fax as they don’t class them to be secure. HMRC will continue to provide copies of the SA302 by post . Sone lenders still insist on this document  whilst others accept the version that is usually… Read More »

SPV-What does it mean?

An SPV is short for (Special Purpose Vehicle). It’s jargon for a company set up specifically for one purpose. In this case to own property. Most lenders prefer this type of company as there is no baggage from the day to day trading activities if the company carried out a business or service. We then… Read More »

Lenders using the same language

It’s always been difficult to compare fees when lenders use different words for their costs. By early 2016 most lenders should have a “tariff of charges” in place that will be in a standard format. They will also be in the same order in their promotional literature. This follows a Which? campaign and will make… Read More »

Joint Venture Finance

JV Finance is two or more people getting together on a project with skills and finance pooled. Quite often there is no bank or lender involved. If there is a lender then all parties who are putting in the money need to be disclosed to the lender. Other points to consider include: Speaking to your… Read More »

Bridging Finance – The importance of the exit.

When going into bridging always work backwards. How will it get repaid?  If you only have one or two lenders then be very careful as those lenders may change their criteria and you may not be able to remortgage to repay the bridging loan. The implications if you are not able to refinance, are higher… Read More »

Financing a flip

A flip is buying a property and then selling quickly, hopefully at a profit. It may be a refurbishment to increase the value or you may just be trading property. There are only two ways to finance these: Cash, which maybe from a remortgage of another property. Bridging Finance. Don’t use a mortgage to finance them.… Read More »

Choosing a property mentor or education company – Do your homework

If you looking to pay for property education then time in front of a computer could potentially save you thousands. Education- we never stop learning but with any subject sometimes we want a head start. So you want to learn about flipping, development finance, HMOs etc. Where do you go? Firstly don’t part with any… Read More »

Tax Returns and BTL Mortgages

HMRC give you from the start of the tax year April 6th until the 31st January of the following year to complete and submit your tax return. However lenders need an updated return after the 5th October so instead of having almost 10 months to complete it you have 6 months. If the return hasn’t… Read More »

Refurbishment BTL products

Anytime I get asked for bridging I ask is there an alternative? If you don’t have to complete quickly and the property has a kitchen and bathroom there may be BTL refurbishment mortgages out there as an alternative. It is provided in two amounts.  The lender will provide a loan of up to 80% of… Read More »

BTL products we have access to

We have direct access to lenders that will consider: Limited Company applications Single Freehold split into multi units Multi Lets HMOs of all sizes Portfolio Finance Student Tenants DSS/LHA Tenants Retail with flats above Rental valuations No minimum income Limited Company applications Pension and Trust applications Professional landlords Adverse credit Ex Pat applications Foreign Nationals

£330,000 refinance from Yorkshire Bank

Due to their withdrawal from the market Yorkshire had given notice to a long established Lancashire property company to move it’s property portfolio to another bank or sell. The directors were in their 80’s and spent most of their time overseas and didn’t own a main residence in this country. To add to this their… Read More »

Ex Pat BTL Mortgages

We have lenders for UK nationals residing outside of the UK, providing you have a relevant satisfactory UK financial track record and other UK property assets. You need; UK bank account a minimum of two UK investment properties with at least one mortgage outstanding Independent personal income to support your other financial commitments In a position… Read More »

£500,000 Residential Development Finance in London

Experienced developer had been declined by its bank as they were not lending in the sector. Based upon previous track record and his professional team a loan of 100% of build costs and fees was agreed with a specialist property lender.

Bridging Finance Risks

I deal with bridging finance risks on a daily basis. A lot of landlords don’t like bridging, others do and the purpose of this post is not to sell the concept but to make people aware of some of the pitfalls when signing an agreement. Like everything in life the vast majority of lenders and… Read More »

Auction Finance in Leeds

We were approached by a residential mortgage broker who had a client that had purchased a residential investment property at auction. They thought they would be able to obtain finance from their bank but their request was declined. Due to the tight deadline bridging finance was considered but we were confident that we could raise… Read More »

Bridging Finance in London £900,000

A corporate finance house in Manchester had a client who was buying a business in the South West. They had been let down by a Venture Capital company and were looking for alternative funding. The purchaser had a property with no mortgage and wanted to obtain a bridging loan of £900,000 quickly. Other lenders and brokers had… Read More »

Bridging Finance for Auction Purchase

We were approached by an IFA who had tried to obtain bridging finance of £350,000 on a property bought at auction. The client and IFA had approached lenders direct and the IFA had gone to a specialist bridging firm who couldn’t help. A 10% deposit had been paid at auction and we had less than two weeks to obtain the finance. The buyer was very anxious about losing the deposit and being sued… Read More »

Read the small print of your loan agreement

Getting the business finance you need can be stressful enough and when agreed the automatic reaction is one of relief and lets get it done as quickly as possible. If you have just approached your own bank then you may be in for a surprise later down the line. To most people a 15 year loan is a… Read More »

Buy to Let Remortgage

Manchester based property investor required a buy to let loan to repay bridging finance. Due to his profession and the large number of properties he owned within his existing portfolio he had been turned down by lenders. The bridging company was putting pressure on the client for repayment. We quickly sourced an alternative lender from… Read More »

Please go we don’t want you

We all understand why property is not flavour of the month for a lot of lenders with  bad debts, questions over values and a lack of demand for new build due to restrictions in mortgage lending, but we are seeing many long established landlords having their funding lines cut. The number of new clients we… Read More »

Bridging Loan in Devon £412,000

Bridging loan to Torquay based developer to repay existing development loan with another lender which had expired. Introduced to us by their residential broker.Negotiated with lenders to reduce the number of properties held as security thus maximising remortgage options and reducing the amount of interest charged. Agreed over a nine month term which was sufficient time… Read More »

Commercial Mortgage for a Day Nursery

We were introduced to a Cheshire based day nursery group. They had a recent history of low profitability and losses due to “tax planning”. They required a commercial mortgage to move premises as they had outgrown their current home. Due to the lack of profits in their accounts, they had been declined by several lenders.… Read More »

Searchlight Finance Ltd is a broker not a lender.

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We are a credit broker not a lender.

Searchlight Finance Ltd is registered at 98, King Street, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 6HQ. Company Register number is 07929050.

Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA registration number is 743220. You can check via www.register.fca.org.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, Z3109319 and you can check via www.ico.org.uk.

We conduct both regulated and unregulated business and therefore not all products provided through us are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

We source finance from the whole of market and may receive commissions that will vary depending on the lender, product, or other permissible factors. The nature of any commission model will be confirmed to you before you proceed.

Member of National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB).