Lending Criteria

Loan tiers for purchases: 95% up to £500,000, 85% up to £750,000, 80% up to £850,000, 75% up to £1,000,000, 70% up to £1,500,000. Fees may be added. Conditions apply.

Applicants borrowing on a 95% LTV basis cannot own any other property at the time of completion.

Loan tiers for remortgages: 90% up to £500,000, 85% up to £750,000, 80% up to £850,000, 75% up to £1,000,000, 70% up to £1,500,000. Fees may be added. Conditions apply.

The following property types are not acceptable:

• Newly built houses where the Loan to Value (LTV) is greater than 85%
• Newly built flats or conversions (built or converted within the last 12 months) where the Loan to Value (LTV) is greater than 80%
• Properties less than 10 years old that are not covered by an approved new home warranty scheme or Professional Consultant’s Certificate
• Properties outside Mainland UK. Please contact us if your property is located on any Scottish islands except Skye, Bute, Lewis & Harris, Mainland Orkney, Mainland Shetland, Arran, Mull, Islay, Whalsay, Yell, South Ronaldsay, West Burra, Tiree and Unst which are acceptable
• Studio flats, freehold flats, flats with unacceptable access arrangements (e.g. rear external staircases) or flats within blocks where our valuer reports inadequate maintenance of communal areas
• Ex-local authority or ex-public sector flats that are greater than 4 storeys high or that have open decking access
• Flats converted from office buildings or refurbished ex-local authority blocks
• Leasehold terms of less than 85 years at the start of the mortgage
• Properties being purchased under a Right to Buy, Shared Ownership, Shared Equity arrangement
• Properties which include commercial usage within the title
• Properties with occupancy restrictions
• Properties being acquired under an assignable contract
• Purchases where the vendor has owned the property for less than 6 months (except where we have given consent)
• Properties with communal heating, hot water or other services where the property is not individually metered
• Properties with solar panels may be acceptable; please call for more details.
• Flats that exceed 75% Loan to Value (LTV) within blocks that have mixed residential and commercial use, unless:

a)In a development over 6 storeys and built after the year 2000. 
b)Commercial use is confined to the ground floor and not detrimental to future saleability.

This list is not exhaustive. Some non-traditional forms of construction won’t be accepted. If the property is built from anything other than brick or stone, if the roof is not tile or slate, or if it's a self-built property, please call for further details.

You can overpay at any time during your mortgage term.

If you’re in a promotional period, you can overpay a minimum of £500 and a maximum of 10% of the outstanding mortgage balance (as at 31st March the previous year) without incurring any early repayment or administration charges.

Once the promotional period is over, the amount you can overpay is unlimited, however if you pay off your mortgage in full charges may apply.

We will consider applications from contractors, subject to the following criteria:

• a minimum of 12 months contracting in their current occupation
• a minimum gross contracting income of £50,000 per annum. We will base affordability assessment on 80% of the applicant’s gross income
• a maximum of 90% Loan to Value (LTV)
• we will use the current contract for income assessment, but we will also review all contracts held in the last 12 months

Applications from contractors are also acceptable under standard self-employed criteria.

You can borrow a maximum of 60% of the purchase price or valuation (whichever is lower) on an interest only basis, or a combination of repayment and interest only, subject to:

• a minimum equity of £200,000
• A minimum assessable individual income of £50,000 per annum or minimum assessable joint income of £75,000 per annum (where neither applicant fulfils the individual income requirement). Income for all applicants must be contracted and paid in GBP

We are unable to lend into any applicant’s retirement on an interest only basis

If your loan exceeds the specified loan to value then the entire amount must be on a repayment basis

We only accept the sale of this mortgaged property as the repayment strategy. This will be verified by an underwriter to ensure that it’s credible.

You can remortgage to raise additional capital as long as:

• additional funds cannot be used for business or speculative purposes
• Debt Consolidation loans will be considered subject to individual assessment by an underwriter.

Transactions are only acceptable where the seller is the owner or registered proprietor of the property, and has been for at least 6 months.

If you’re remortgaging, you must have owned the property for a period of at least 6 months

We will not lend to you if you have ever:

• been bankrupt
• been subject to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)
• owned a property which has been taken with possession (including voluntary possession)

We will normally only lend to you, if in the last 3 years you have had no:

• arrears on mortgages, fixed loans or rent
• more than two consecutive missed payments on credit or store cards
• more than one CCJ to maximum of £250, and not within the last 12 months

Missed mail order or telecoms payments are normally disregarded.