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Frequently asked questions

The biggest difference between a commercial mortgage & other types of mortgages such as a residential mortgages, is the type of property for which funding is required; in this case it would be an office, industrial unit or a shop for your business to use. The property might actually be an investment to you, where tenants pay rent you use, in turn, to pay the mortgage.

The standard process is that an application is submitted by the customer, and on approval a mortgage offer is issued by the bank, subject to a satisfactory valuation, and the transaction is completed.

In addition, because commercial properties can take longer to sell than houses, all lenders regard them as a bit more risky, and for this reason the customer normally pays a higher interest rate.

Get in touch with us and we’ll go through some details with you to find out if one of our loans is suitable for you.

Our loans are available from 12 months up to 25 year terms for loans on commercial property and up to 30 years for residential property loans.

We will lend for property purchase or transfer, refinance, working capital, equity release, business growth, investment and business acquisition.

We accept applications from sole traders, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited companies and PLCs.

Yes we lend to expats who are either acquiring or refinancing residential buy-to-let property. Get in touch with us for further details.

The terms of a loan vary on a case by case basis.  Get in touch with us for further details.

We do not provide development funding at present. We do however have a refurbishment loan option available for smaller projects.

Once we have all the information required, loans are typically underwritten in around 48 hours.

It helps us to know why you were refused by another lender but this doesn’t necessarily mean that we can’t help you. We have a manual underwriting process whereby each case is considered on its own merits. Speak to us to see what we can do for you.

That will depend on the type of loan you require, although our general maximum level is 70% of the market value of a property. Please get in touch with us to find out more.

Yes, you can make a one off overpayment of up to 10% of the outstanding loan balance within a 12 month period without charge. Any payments exceeding this amount will incur an Early Repayment Charge (ERC).

If you choose to exit your loan agreement before it ends, you may have to pay an Early Repayment Charge (ERC). This will vary depending on the type of loan you have chosen and in most cases will be charged as a percentage of the loan outstanding. For full details, please get in touch.

Our fees and charges are listed within our tariff of charges.

We can be flexible in the right circumstances. Please call us to discuss cases that you believe are outside our criteria but which you would like to explore further.

Any of the following properties are likely to be houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)

  • Bedsits
  • Shared houses
  • Lodgings
  • Hostels.
  • Individual shared self-contained flats/cluster flats
  • Blocks of converted flats
  • Halls of residence (privately operated)
  • Asylum seeker/migrant accommodation
  • Accommodation for workers/employees
  • Refuges

We are able to lend on both licensed and unlicensed HMO’s. If a HMO needs a licence then we will insist that we have sight of the licence.

In some circumstances our solicitors will be able to represent our borrower as well as the bank, however, this option is not always available dependent upon the individual loan. If this is the case then the borrower must be represented by their own solicitor. 

Cambridge & Counties Bank is regulated by the FCA and PRA, however property loans made to businesses and experienced property investors for business purposes are not classified by the FCA as regulated mortgages contracts.

If you would like further information then please see the FCA handbook here. Alternatively, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team.

Existing customers FAQs

We will send you statements on the anniversary of your loan completion. They will be sent via post to the address we hold on your loan account.

If you would like to receive more frequent statements or change the way in which you receive them, please call us on 0344 225 3800 and speak to a member of our team.

If you would like to make or discuss an early settlement on your loan, in part or in full, we can talk to you about your options and making this happen.

Please call us on 0344 225 3800 and speak to a member of our team.

You can contact us via email, telephone or post using the details on our contact us page. Our team can help with all enquiries including:

  • Balance enquiries
  • Consent to lease
  • Payments
  • Lending fees

Yes, of course. We understand that businesses often move locations, change employees and sometimes change their name. These changes won’t normally affect your loan agreement but it’s important to keep our records up to date.

Please call us on 0344 225 3800 and speak to a member of our team.

If you change your registered office or principal place of business, please write to us with the following details:

  • Named loan account holder/ Business name
  • Loan account number
  • A copy of the registration documents you have filed at Companies House with the new details

Please send us an email from your old email address stating the new email address to be used. If your old email account is unavailable, please send us a letter signed by a loan account signatory stating both the new and old email addresses. We’ll send confirmation of receipt to both email addresses for added peace of mind.

If you change the name of your limited company or LLP, please write to us with the following details:

  • Named loan account holder / Business name
  • Loan account number
  • A copy of the certificate of name change issued to you by Companies House showing the new details

Alternatively, if your business is an ordinary partnership, that is not an LLP and you pass a resolution to change the trading name then please send us a copy of the resolution signed by at least two active partners.

If you want to change the bank details of where our direct debit is taken from, then please get in touch and we will provide you with a new direct debit mandate to complete and return to us. Please do this as soon as possible to help avoid any late or missed loan payments.

Most Cambridge & Counties Bank loans track the BoE Base Rate. The BoE base rate is the official interest rate set by the Monetary Policy Committee. If a BoE base rate change is announced, we will write to you to confirm when your new rate will come into effect and what your new payment will be.

If you’re having difficulty and are worried about making your loan payments, we encourage you to contact us as soon as possible. We have experience in helping people in your situation and want to try to help you too. Many people dislike talking about money issues but when you are struggling to afford your loan or can sense trouble ahead it’s best to talk to us straight away as we are here to help. Whether or not you have missed a loan payment or are worried that you might struggle in the future, please call us on 0344 225 3800 and speak to a member of our team.

You can also get in touch with the Business Debtline who provide free debt advice to small businesses and people who are self-employed. You can access their services over the phone on 0800 197 6026 or through their website at www.businessdebtline.org.

Yes, we review all our loans regularly to protect our business and that of our customers. During these reviews, we may ask you to provide information such as:

  • Buildings insurance certificate
  • Annual accounts
  • Tenancy schedule etc.

You will receive an email or postal request nearer the time of your loan review requesting the specific information required for your loan.

If your loan amount exceeds £2m, regulation states we must revalue any properties securing your loan account every three years. We work hard to keep the disruption of this to a minimum and we will contact you to confirm the costs/timings of the visit in advance.

Please get in touch with us to discuss at the earliest possible opportunity.

Haven’t quite found what you’re looking for?

Get in touch with our property finance team:

Call us on:

0344 225 3939

email us at:
Fax us on:

0116 254 4637

Find us at:

Cambridge & Counties Bank
Charnwood Court
5B New Walk
Leicester LE1 6TE

 

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