Hi,

We are currently on a 5 year fixed mortgage, we took this out 2 years ago at 100%. We want to rent the house out and contacted Scottish widows to obtain consent and they have informed us that we can let the house for 1 year and they must change to a buy to let. The fee to let for the one year is £450. Is there anyway around this fee? They say they treat every case individually - do you think they would be flexible on this agreement?

thanks for your help

s&a

It sounds like you have got a good deal. In similar situations some lenders will ask for a payment to bring the LTV ratio down to 75%, others will ask you to pay the settlement fee as well before putting you onto a mortgage deal that allows letting. Some buy to let mortgages use an interest rate 1% or so higher than residential mortgages.

It's up to you. You can ask them to be flexible but, in your shoes, I would pay them the £450 before they changed their minds.