Consent to let

SpiderElectron

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

You may find it difficult to let without charging rent.

OK that's what I'm asking - what are the facts surrounding this and what do mortgage companies normally make of such requests?

Foxy-Stoat_3

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

Your lender will need to see you are collecting rent at at least 25% more than the mortgage, as well as you meeting an other requirements, minimum LTV% etc for them to permit to consent to let, well that's what Halifax insisted on anyway.

Thats what my lender wanted as a minimum....you may struggle if you say you want to let it to friends or family and not charge anything.

I would just ask for consent to let, not mention about who to and have an idea what the approximate rent for your type of property is in your area so if they ask you will know if its viable. They may ask for a copy of the tenancy agreement as well.

When and if they agree to consent to let, as long as your paperwork is in order and you pay the mortgage, they are not going to find out if your collecting any rent, unless they want to repossess for any reason.

If your letting to ANYONE you really should have a proper tenancy agreement and you will need the correct landlord insurance, gas certificates and all that.

You could just go down a different road if you have enough bedrooms....how many people will be living there?

SpiderElectron

Thanks again :-)
How many mortgages did you have in total? Did you have one on your own home plus one on the home you were wishing to let?
When I read the recent PDF published on this site (sorry it will not let me publish the link**), it suggested that buying to let was very different from allowing your own home to be let when living else where. For example, if I was working away from home, or decided to go live in my beach hut, I could just ask for a consent to let, which would attract just a small fee and possibly (but not always) a small premium on the mortgage.

But what I am hearing in this forum is that they are both pretty much the same. Actually, what I am hearing is that it is very difficult to get hard facts from lenders without speaking to someone at the lender and identifying ones self. They don't seem to operate to a industry code, or publish policies and costs online.

As I understood it from reading the PDF, the 125% of LTV was required, plus other qualifications, because your main income was already committed to paying your mortgage on the home you live in. The buy-to-let mortgage needed to be self financing. This does not apply in my case because I have no other mortgage, I would be paying the mortgage as before whether I live there or not. I might as well have some tenants keeping the place occupied.

The reason I ask here on this forum rather than go speak to my lender, is that I wish to have all the facts up front before I approach them.

Maybe I should simply restate the question as:
What will my mortgage company do if I just move out, leave the home empty and keep paying the mortgage? It seems they would probably like that better than having a close friend occupy the place to keep it safe.

** h-t-t-p-:-/-/images.moneysavingexpert.com/images/documents/BuyToLet.pdf

Foxy-Stoat_3

I only have one residential mortgage so a BTL wasn't an option as they want you to have a residential mortgage as well.

For you I would go to the lender and see if you are able to take on the mortgage on your own, if they refuse due to your accounts or LTV then you will have to overpay for a few years to build up equity then reapply.

I would get a couple of people in as lodgers, that way it will be cheaper for them and you don't need to apply for consent and you can out them if necessary, you won't be a landlord so less legal regulations to worry about or cost you anything. You take collect around £4250 a year without paying tax and as lodgers they have less rights. As long as you have one room that's yours and on paper you are still living there, they will be classed as lodgers not tenants.

If you move out the you will probably breach your mortgage terms but as long as the mortgage is being paid then how would they know?