Editorial
Landlord finance guides.
Plain-English, data-anchored guides written from the lender side. Every guide is written by Matt Lenzie (Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group alumnus, 25+ year career banker (bank of scotland, lloyds banking group). £300m+ raised for property clients.). No marketing fluff, what the lender actually wants and why.
Guide · 9 min read
What is a portfolio landlord? The 4-property rule and what it changes
Four mortgaged buy-to-lets puts you in a different underwriting category. What the PRA rule actually says, and what lenders ask for once it applies.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 10 min read
Portfolio landlord stress tests: ICR, weighted averages and top-slicing
Portfolio cases pass or fail on the aggregate numbers, not the subject property. The tests lenders run, with worked examples.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 10 min read
Section 24 for portfolio landlords: the mortgage interest restriction at scale
Section 24 is an inconvenience on one property and a structural problem on ten. The maths at portfolio scale, and the responses that work.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 11 min read
Transferring property to a limited company: incorporation, CGT and SDLT
Incorporation is a tax event, a legal transfer and a full refinance in one. The real costs, the reliefs, and when the maths justifies it.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 9 min read
Stamp duty on buy-to-let: SDLT, LBTT, LTT and the additional dwelling surcharge
The biggest acquisition cost after the deposit, and the one with the most planning routes at portfolio scale: multiple dwellings, the 6+ rule, and mixed-use treatment.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 11 min read
Limited company vs personal name buy-to-let for portfolio landlords
At portfolio scale the company usually wins, but not always, and not for every property. The decision framework with the 2026 numbers.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 10 min read
Development finance explained: how facilities are sized, drawn and repaid
Development facilities are sized on GDV and cost, drawn in arrears against a monitoring surveyor's sign-off, and live or die on the exit. The full mechanics.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 9 min read
Bridging loan exit strategies: what lenders accept and what goes wrong
Bridging is underwritten backwards from the exit. The exits lenders accept, the evidence they want on day one, and the cost of getting it wrong.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 10 min read
Buy, refurbish, refinance: the BRR playbook with real numbers
BRR is the engine behind most fast-growing portfolios. The funding structure, the valuation reality, and a worked deal from purchase to refinance.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 8 min read
Gross development value (GDV): how it is assessed and why it drives everything
Every number in a development appraisal hangs off GDV, and the lender's valuer, not your agent, decides what it is. How the assessment works.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 8 min read
Declarations of trust on rental property: splitting income, Form 17 and lenders
A declaration of trust can move rental income to the lower-rate taxpayer without selling anything, if Form 17, the mortgage and the paperwork all line up.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
Guide · 9 min read
Selling a buy-to-let: capital gains tax, the 60-day rule and portfolio exits
Selling is a tax event with a 60-day deadline. The CGT computation, what is deductible, and when a refinance beats a disposal entirely.
Published 10 June 2026 · Read →
More guides coming
We publish new guides monthly across portfolio mortgage structuring, limited-company SPV finance, HMO and MUFB finance, bridging and development finance, commercial and semi-commercial mortgages, holiday let mortgages, MEES regulation, Renters Rights Bill, and portfolio landlord underwriting. Every guide is written by Matt Lenzie from the broker desk, drawn from cases packaged this month, not generic explainer content.
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