Affordability rules
We keep the affordability calculator as simple as possible, to give you an accurate but quick answer, however, we do apply more rules when you make a DIP for your customers. Review them below to understand if your customer is likely to get a mortgage with us. Please remember, a successful DIP doesn’t guarantee that we will lend to your customer.
Table of contents:
We will not lend to applicants under 18 years of age.
If the customer will be over 80 years of age at the end of term, please adjust the requested term.
If the applicant is not in full time employment we may need to carry out further checks before we can confirm we will lend.
If future changes in income and/or expenditure are indicated in the application we may need to carry out further checks before we can confirm we will lend.
The minimum income for the main applicant is £16,000 and must be from an acceptable source as detailed on our lending criteria.
Primary Applicants must have at least 12 months employment history.
We will not lend to self-employed applicants with less than 2 years’ experience.
Primary Applicants, where contracting, must have been in their current contract more than 6 months or their previous contract must have been longer than 12 months.
Secondary Applicants, where contracting, must have been in their current contract more than 3 months or their previous contract must have been longer than 12 months.
Contractors must have more than 12 months of contracting employment history.
Contractors must have more than 24 months of employment history.
Contractors must earn an annual income of at least £50,000 or a Day Rate of £250.
Contractors must have had no longer than a 2 month break between their latest contracts.
If the applicant is borrowing for home improvements costing more than 15% of the property value, we will not lend if the required loan exceeds 90% of the maximum affordable loan, as displayed in the affordability calculator or if the LTV exceeds 85%.
If the value of unsecured credit to be redeemed on completion is more than £50k we will not lend if the required advance is less than £300k or the required LTV is more than 80%.
If the purpose of the loan is for debt consolidation, and the total amount of unsecured debt to consolidate is greater than £30k, we will not lend if:
- the required loan exceeds 80% of the maximum affordable loan, as displayed in the affordability calculator, or
- the customer debt-to-income ratio before consolidation is more than 20%, or
- debt con / required loan is more than 20%, or
- debt con is more than £100k
We will not lend for debt consolidation as part of a Right to Buy application.
We will not lend for business purposes.
The maximum LTV for a new build house is 90%.
The maximum LTV for a new build flat is 80%.
The maximum LTV for a second home is 75%.
The maximum cash incentive we will accept is 5% of purchase price.
We will not lend on freehold flats and we will not lend on commonhold property, we may be able to consider the applicant with an alternative property.
An unexpired leasehold must have a term of more than 80 years remaining.
An unexpired leasehold must have a term of more than 50 years remaining at the end of the mortgage.
All foreign nationals must have been resident in the UK for a minimum of 3 years and have unrestricted rights to live and work in the UK. This must be demonstrated by a UK residency permit, passport Visa stamp, written confirmation from the UK Border Agency or similar organisation, or, in the case of EU/Swiss nationals, the share code to allow assessment of pre-settled or settled status via the government website. Irish citizens are automatically assumed to have unrestricted rights to live and work in the UK after 3 years residence under the terms of the Common Travel Area arrangement.
Need to check if your customer is eligible?
Use our quick and accurate affordability calculator to see what we can offer.
Affordability calculator