About The Mortgage Works

The Mortgage Works is a part of Nationwide Building Society and provides their buy-to-let mortgages. They have been specialising in this area since 1988, and have won awards for the products and services they offer to buy-to-let investors and portfolio landlords.

Originally Sun Bank, The Mortgage Works was acquired by the Portman Building Society in 2001 and took on its current moniker in 2007 when Portman merged with Nationwide.

What type of buy-to-let mortgages do they offer?

The Mortgage Works offer a range of buy-to-let mortgages for the following:

• First-time landlords
• Portfolio landlords
• Self-employed landlords
• Limited companies
• HMO investors
• Landlords who are remortgaging

The Nationwide subsidiary has exclusive products for existing customers, including those seeking green additional borrowing, and let-to-buy agreements. Their mortgage range includes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10-year fixed-rate deals, as well as tracker-rate mortgages.

Lending criteria

The eligibility requirements for a buy-to-let mortgage at The Mortgage Works is as follows:

• Deposit requirements: Start at 20% of the property’s value or 25% if it has an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D or E.
• Age: The maximum age upon application is 70 years old, but there is no upper age limited for experienced landlords with at least 35% deposit.
• Landlord experience: There is no minimum amount of experience needed as The Mortgage Works will lend to first-time landlords. They will only lend to first-time buyers if they are applying with someone who has owned a home for six months.
• Credit history: Bad credit mortgages are available under some circumstances, but serious issues like bankruptcies and repossessions need to be fully discharged.
• Portfolio size: Borrowers can have up to 10 mortgaged properties on completion.
• Loan sizes: The minimum amount they will consider letting you borrow is £25,001, or £2,500 for additional borrowing applications. The maximum is £1.5 million.

What interest rates are available?

The interest rate The Mortgage Works will offer will depend on a range of factors, including the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio and the type of product you choose. Their standard variable rate at the time of writing (May 2024) is 8.99%.

You can compare the latest rates from The Mortgage Works with their competitors, or have one of our brokers do it for you, for free below:

How The Mortgage Works calculates affordability

The maximum you can borrow is based on the property’s rental potential. Basic rate taxpayers and limited companies will need an interest cover ratio of 130%, while higher rate taxpayers will need it to be 165%. HMO properties must be 175% regardless of tax status.

Is The Mortgage Works a good lender?

They currently hold an average rating of 4/5 on TrustPilot, based on feedback from more than 550 customers. In addition, the Nationwide subsidiary was named as ‘Best Buy to Let Mortgage Lender’ at the 2023/24 edition of Your Mortgage Awards.

Pros and Cons

The table below highlights some of the advantages and disadvantages of The Mortgage Works as a lender to give you an idea of whether they are the right option for you:

Compare rates and deals from The Mortgage Works

You can view rates and deals from The Mortgage Works and compare them with their competitors from across the market for free on Teito. We also have mortgage brokers on hand if you need a little help. Our advisors are buy-to-let specialists who can offer bespoke advice to landlords and often have access to exclusive deals from this lender and others.

Follow the steps below to browse rates in real time and choose your mortgage online:

Get started here: Then select whether you are looking for a two-year fixed-rate mortgage to buy a property or for remortgage purposes.

Specify the purpose of the property: You can compare two-year fixed-rate mortgages for residential or buy-to-let purposes, as well as remortgages.

Choose your own mortgage: Finally, tell us what stage you are at in the process and you can compare rates from across the market and choose the deal you want.

After you have selected a mortgage deal, one of our mortgage brokers will check over your application before securing an agreement in principle for you. They will be on hand to offer bespoke advice, make sure you’re getting the best deal, and oversee your application.