Mortgages for businesses are usually referred to as Commercial mortgages and are for those properties that are not your personal residence, but for your business use instead.
Getting a commercial mortgage works along the same lines as getting a residential mortgage really, where you need to have a deposit, however, sometimes they will ask for a greater amount of deposit, depending on the value of the property etc. They will take a lot of factors into account before giving you a decision. So treat it as if you were applying for a job – give a real thorough application, some lenders will even ask for references, so is very similar. It is highly advised to use a broker and financial advisor for commercial mortgages. There is a lot more paperwork involved and you will need to factor in all your costs such as arrangements fees, legal fees as well as the mortgage broker’s fees.
Repayments are usually the same terms as residential mortgages, however the interest rates you will repay on a commercial mortgage may be considerably higher as the properties are seen are as higher risks. If you have only a 20% deposit or less, the interest rates may be higher still.
Lenders will require a lot of information on the business, their main concern being to see how the business is doing financially, how it has been doing for the past few years and whether they see it will be feasible for you to pay back the mortgage. You may even need to prepare some profit and loss accounts for the next few years ahead.
Can your business afford a commercial mortgage?
Your business’ credit rating will play a major part in their decisions as well. They will look at the condition of the building you are looking to get a mortgage on and the lease terms, this is a very thorough application and will take a while, hence why it really is best to have the help of a broker and financial advisor. The first place to start would be use this commercial mortgage calculator from Mortgage Arrangers to check if your business can afford the repayments. They will need to establish whether your business has grown over the last few years or at least show stability so they know warrants getting a property to use for business purposes.
You can choose whether you would like fixed or variable rate mortgages as you would for a residential mortgage. Fixed rates are normally fixed for five years, giving you an exact look at what your outgoings will be in regards to the mortgage and give stability to the business safe in the knowledge that at least whilst you are in the initial years of the mortgage, it will not go up and especially with Brexit looming upon us and the uncertainty of that for all.
A mortgage for business doesn’t have to be a commercial property
It’s a common misconception that a mortgage taken out through a business means it must be a commercial building, but that’s not always the case. It may be that you’ve found a residential home which you want to add to your property portfolio. You’ll need to check with your lender. Specialists such as Aldermore who offer commercial mortgages will be able to advise on this. If the property is large enough, you could even think of renting some of it out to another business – you would need to check with the lenders to see if this is alright with them, many will not have a problem and it will help you out immensely with your repayments on the mortgage and some lenders will also see it as a plus as is another income for the business.
As well as all the costs of applying for the loan to the mortgage broker, solicitors, financial assistants, stamp duty etc, do not forget to factor in your initial costs of any refurbishments that may need doing to the property and what work it would require to make it suitable for your business to run from the premises.
Another bonus is the interest repayments on your mortgage are tax deductible against the business accounts.