Check eligibility

You are eligible for a commercial loan with National Counties if your proposed loan meets the following statements:

• Less than 40% of the property will be used for residential purposes, either by you or members of your family
• The loan is to be to a UK resident individual, partnership or limited company (channel Island and Isle of Man Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV's) also acceptable)
• All the parties to the loan have a clear credit history
• The security for the loan will be a first charge over the property
• The security property must be situated in either England or Wales
• The property is complete and in a good state of repair
• The property is freehold or, if it is leasehold, there should be a minimum of 50 years remaining on the lease at the end of the loan term (30 years for Central London)
• The property is either an office, retail unit, light industrial unit, hotel or restaurant

If the proposed loan complies with all of the above please decide which of options (a) or (b) below best describes the loan you require and then check that it meets the criteria statements below the relevant heading.

(a) I require a loan to purchase or refinance a property which is let as an investment.

Ensure your proposal fits our criteria for Commercial Property Investment loans (click here for details - lending criteria), in particular check: 

• The amount you would like to borrow is within our set minimum and maximum loan amounts
• The amount you would like to borrow is within the maximum loan to value (the percentage of the loan amount compared to the property value)
• That a rental income, to meet loan repayments, is available from the outset and meets our serviceability requirement
• The property is of a type listed within our Acceptable Property Types
• The tenant must be of strong covenant (a well known name, FTSE 250 Company, or a tenant whereby covenant strength can be assessed easily). We regret local or un-assessable covenants are not sufficient for our purposes
• The maximum repayment term considered will be over the unexpired term of the lease(s), or next tenant break option, whichever is the earliest.

(b) I require a loan to refinance my existing borrowing and/or raise capital

Ensure your proposal fits our criteria for Commercial Lending (click here for details of - lending criteria), in particular check:

• The amount you would like to borrow is within our set minimum and maximum loan amounts
• The amount you would like to borrow is within the maximum loan to value (the percentage of the loan amount compared to the property value)
• You have not missed any payments with your existing lender (we will undertake enquiries to confirm this)
• If you are refinancing an investment property, that the tenant in occupation meets our quality requirements and rental income meets our serviceability criteria - refer to (a) above

After checking against the above statements and criteria, if you are satisfied that you can proceed with your enquiry then please request an Agreement in Principle, which will give you an indication as to the terms we can offer and the conditions we will ask you to comply with, or complete a formal Application Form.

We aim to provide Agreement in Principle replies within 48 hours. This notice is an indication of our ability to assist you only. Credit approval has not been sought and this is NOT a formal mortgage offer.