BTL mortgage while currently living at property

[Paddysreturn]

Hi,

I would like to rent out my home and move away from london to rent another property. Can I obtain a BTL mortgage while still living in my own property and what is the normal period of grace allowed to move out once obtaining the mortgage?

Obviously I could move out before the application but I would be losing money while the flat sits empty.

Thanks
Paddy

[loanarranger]

If yourproperty is in Mortgage and you genuinely need to move away from yourpresent base , firstly contact your lender and seek a Consent to Let, this if granted can be allowed for 12 months or indeed open ended, but if granted you will need an AST and for your Insurers to be notified of the situation.
You cannot secure a Buy to Let Mortgage where you intend to remain in situ, such borrowings are NonRegulated and the applicant has to declare that neither they or their family will occupy the property, make a false declaration and the consequences are considerable including at the very least the loan being call in and your name being placed on the Hunter Register which alerts other participating lenders know of what you have done.

[Paddysreturn]

Thank you very much for the detailed response. I certainly wouldn’t want to defraud the bank, just to move out as soon as the mortgage is approved.

If I request consent to let from my current provider I will still be in the same situation in that I can’t move out/rent it out until they approve but if I wait until they approve there will be a lag of a couple of weeks while I vacate the place.

[loanarranger]

Unfortunately the horse comes before the cart, You cannot jump the gun by letting in advance of the Consent being granted, furthermore if you are letting via a Letting Agent , they have a legal obligation to obtain either the formal consent to Let approval from the clients lender or proof that the current mortgage is indeed a Buy to Let facility. This is to protect themselves and importantly the prospective tenants in the event that if you defaulted on your loan and they sought possession, the tenant would be allowed to remain for the period of the Unexpired term of the AST, but if Consent were not granted you would be at risk of being sued by the tenant, not a risk worth taking.
From my experience, and this depends on who your lender is, an application is normally considered and responded to withinone/ two weeks, if however there are any questions the lender requires clarification on then the time line will naturally take longer; also bear in mind that many staff working for lenders are working remotely and therefore there can be slight delays in the stated time lines.
I appreciate the quandary you might find yourself in but to do the process correctly you do need to abide by what I have indicated.

[alice123]

We did this years back and obtained a consent to let by the current BDG society - we obtained quotes and advice from a local letting agency . The BDG society set out their requiremnts for the let ie only to let to working people and so on and so forth - When we left the property we gave the keys to the letting agency who then found tenants - There was some paperwork to do but it was straighforward and our reasons were that my husbands work had re-located

[loanarranger]

Alice123 is spot on , if the case is plausible then I have yet to have a lender decline a Consent to Let request , unfortunately for some The plausibility and credibility doesn’t hold water and are surprised to be rejected but these are in the minority fortunately.

[Codger]

Becoming a landlord is not as easy as it used to be. Why not sell and make life simpler.

[Gordon999]

Life does not get simpler after selling your BTL property. Its a hard life if you rely on the state pension of £140 p.w

The cash deposited in the bank only earns around 1% compared to 5% - 6% from rental property.

[Kape65]

Is it not the case that a Consent To Let would work differently to a BTL? Surely a CTL doesn't mean that you have to let it. I don't see that remaining in the property after a CTL has been agreed would be illegal.

[Gordon999]

Perhaps apply for consent to let ( due to possible job change ) for one year and change to BTL mortgage later .