Platform has stated that its valuation partners are now able to carry out physical inspections of properties in England from today.
The lender said it is awaiting further guidance on properties in the rest of the UK and will continue to carry out desktop valuations where possible.
Fred Sharp, head of intermediary business at Platform, said: “We are glad to reintroduce physical valuations in line with the guidance from today. Our focus over the short term will be to work through applications that are currently on hold as quickly and safely as possible. We will complete valuations in date order with the oldest applications being looked at first.
“We encourage our broker partners to advise us of any material changes to their clients’ circumstances, especially if the client no longer wants to proceed with the mortgage application, this will enable us to focus on the applications that are progressing.
“The safety of our customers and valuers remains our number one priority and valuations will involve a detailed safety assessment. We understand that some customers will not feel comfortable letting a valuer into the property at this time, where this is the case we will attempt a desktop valuation or place the valuation on hold where this option is not possible.”
Summary of desktop valuations criteria:
- Residential remortgage and revaluations up to 80% LTV
- Residential purchase up to 75% LTV
- Max Property Limit – £1m Greater London and £750k elsewhere
Key exclusions will be:
- Buy-to-let applications above 60% LTV
- New Build
- Non-standard construction
- LTV above 80% for re-mortgage and above 75% for purchase
Platform is also reintroducing buy-to-let mortgages at up to 60% LTV from Wednesday 20 May. There will also be rate changes to select on sale products coming into effect on Wednesday.
All reintroduced products and up to date pricing will be available on the Platform website from Wednesday morning.
Carolyne Gregory, head of retail lending at The Co-operative Bank, said: “To support landlords we are reintroducing our range of competitive buy-to-let mortgages. We understand that finding a good value deal with low costs is important, and especially so during economic uncertainty.
“We are also supporting those looking for a mortgage for their home with affordable home loan options and we will be reducing some of our rates by up to 0.10 percentage points from Wednesday 20 May, which is up to £150 per year based on an average mortgage.
“We continue to offer a wider range of support for our customers which includes the ability to take a mortgage payment holiday, and we will also look for further opportunities to help customers with their finances at this challenging time.”
