Are the banks actually approving BTL Mortgages these days?

Had a call with a broker in the last few weeks to discuss preparing for a Buy-To-Let mortgage application.
His comment was that the banks aren't actually approving any BTL's at the moment and best option is to look to "trade-up" while holding current property as rental.
I would likely bring 50% of the purchase price to the table in cash. Given current state of rental market, I believe that the maths make sense on the rental income side too (even at BTL rates). I would expect rent to cover the monthly repayments (or very close to when factoring in other expenses).
Did I just catch broker on a off day, or are BTL's really drying up.

Are you able to pay the mortgage if the tenant stops paying and you have to go through the process for 2 years to get them out with no rent coming in?

I'd say dried up rather than drying up. Hard to say how much of down to a lack of demand versus a lack of supply.

But to get an idea have a look at the RIL figures.

Plenty of posts on AAM and elsewhere that might suggest the reasons why a person might steer clear of such an investment.

Thank you. The BPFI report is very helpful indeed.
Thanks also for the words of caution. My consideration is probably a bit unusual, and is more than just a cashflow or ROI discussion. I'd prefer not to enter into the full detail on a public forum, as I'm sure you will understand.
I appreciate the responses, and will revert with broker for a more detailed discussion.

Around 19 BTL mortgages per month end of 24 is pretty indicative of the appetite of people and banks, I likely should have posted in this thread about lenders stress testing for rent to be 1.4 the monthly mortgage repayment.

Like yourself the numbers are not terrible for my situation, though also not great. There is something about mortgages though that force many family units to save money. Difference in end may be if one makes an allowance for appreciation or not?

presidenttttt said:

I likely should have posted in this thread about lenders stress testing for rent to be 1.4 the monthly mortgage repayment.

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It's interesting to hear this kind of information but I'm curious how representative this might be for the whole market (all 19 loans of it!).

Did you try multiple lenders - and they all had something similar - or was this just one lender?

I wonder if it might be region specific? Were you enquiring about a BTL in a well established rental market (city, town) or was it for a property say in the countryside where demand might be lower? Was it for a region designated as a RPZ?

Just looked at the raw data there - seems there was a big drop off in RIL in 2022 - hard to know whether caused by fewer applications or customers not getting credit. Could be individual changes in policy at particular banks also. The rate increases have hit RIL lending hard - last I looked one of the pillar banks was offering rates of 7% for new loans.