Complex buy-to-let mortgages

Buy-to-let that doesn't fit a standard high-street form.

Many self-employed couples supplement their retirement provision with a buy-to-let portfolio, small or large. It's an area we've built up a lot of experience advising on, from a single SPV purchase to complex, non-standard lets.

How we can help

Where couples usually need support.

SPV limited company BTL

Why buy through a limited company at all? We explain how holding a property in an SPV can be taxed more efficiently than owning it personally, and find lenders who understand SPV borrowing.

Trading company BTL

Buying a property within your existing trading company rather than a separate SPV, and understanding how lenders view that differently.

Funding a deposit from retained profit

Loaning the BTL deposit from your trading company to an SPV, a way to put retained profit to work without drawing it out as a taxed dividend first.

Complex lets

HMOs and corporate lets, including arrangements like Serco housing let to care companies: the cases most brokers won't take on.

How it works

From fact find to a completed purchase.

Step 1

Fact find

We take a full picture of your existing portfolio, company structure, and what you're trying to achieve, whether that's one property or building on several.

Step 2

Present report

You get a clear report setting out the options available, including structure, likely lenders, and the reasoning behind each recommendation.

Step 3

Implement

Once you're happy, we take the case through to application and offer, liaising with your accountant and solicitor along the way where needed.

Illustrative example

What this can look like in practice.

What follows is an illustrative scenario, not a real client case, showing how this kind of lending can work in practice.

Case one: Why use a limited company?

SPV purchase after two declines elsewhere

A co-director couple had been declined by two lenders for a buy-to-let purchase through their limited company. We placed the case with a specialist lender who lends to SPVs on this basis, structured so profits stay inside the company rather than being drawn out personally.

2Prior declines
£62,000Loan secured
4.2 weeksApplication to offer

Illustrative example only, based on a typical scenario. Figures are not a quote and individual circumstances vary.

Case two: Trading company BTL

Buying within the trading company itself

Rather than setting up a separate SPV, some clients want to hold a buy-to-let inside their existing trading company. Lenders assess this differently to an SPV purchase, and not every lender will consider it at all, so we work out early on whether it's realistically achievable before a couple sets their heart on a property.

Existing companyNo new SPV needed
Fewer lendersNot every lender considers trading companies
Checked earlyFeasibility confirmed before you commit to a property

Illustrative example only, based on a typical scenario. Figures are not a quote and individual circumstances vary.

Case three: Funding the deposit from retained profit

A director's loan instead of a dividend

A couple wanted to use profit sitting in their trading company to fund a deposit on a new SPV purchase, without drawing it out as a dividend first and paying personal tax on it. Structured as a loan from the trading company to the SPV, the deposit was funded from retained profit while the mortgage itself was arranged in the usual way against the SPV.

Loan, not dividendDeposit funded company to company
No dividend taxOn the funds used for the deposit
Accountant-ledStructured and documented with your accountant

Illustrative example only, based on a typical scenario. Loans between companies, or between a company and a director, can trigger tax charges (including the section 455 charge on close company loans, or a benefit-in-kind charge on cheap or interest-free loans) if not structured and documented correctly, so this always needs to be set up with your accountant. Figures are not a quote and individual circumstances vary.

Case four: Complex lets

HMOs and corporate lets to care companies

Not every lender will consider an HMO, and fewer still will consider a corporate let, such as a property let to a care company under a Serco-style housing arrangement. We work with lenders who understand these tenancy types and assess the case on that basis rather than declining it on sight.

HMOsMultiple lettings within one property
Corporate letsIncluding housing let to care companies
Specialist lendersWho assess rather than decline on sight

Illustrative example only, based on a typical scenario. Figures are not a quote and individual circumstances vary.

Most Buy to Let mortgages are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage secured against it.

Want to know what this could mean for you?

Take the free Couples Finance Score, or book a discovery call straight away.