Frequently asked questions

Yes, and it needs to be keyed as a remortgage, however there may be additional costs and capital raising restrictions. For more info call us on 0333 399 0055.

At least 6 months.

Examples of acceptable loan purposes include (but are not limited to):

• Structural/non-structural home improvements
• Repayment of a Help to Buy equity loan (should be input into the system as “repay second charge”)
• Buying final share in shared ownership
• Buying the freehold or a new extended lease
• Buying land to extend the current property
• Purchasing another property. Please note that details of the property will be required (as we do not accept applications for speculative property purchase) including, but not limited to:-
  • Property address
  • Confirmed mortgage costs (if applicable)
  • Forecast rental income (if applicable)
• Buying a car, caravan, or boat
• Paying off a second charge
• Debt consolidation (except for Right to Buy)
• Buying out joint borrower (transfer of equity)
• Paying for school fees or childcare
• Paying for holidays

Give us a call on 0333 399 0055 and our Mortgage Processing Team will take a look at this for you.

Log in to the portal and you can view case and tracking in the case summary.

For many PCVs (click here for a full list), you can self-serve and action these within MSO. Simply select “take back control of the case” within MSO and follow the instructions.

90 days.

Our mortgage offers are valid for 180 days plus a 15 day grace period.

If the Valuation expires before the offer, the customer may need to pay for an additional valuation before proceeding.

All valuations are valid for 180 days from the date the property was inspected by the valuer. If the valuation expires before the offer, a new valuation may be required.

All you need do is get in touch with our Support Team on 0333 399 0055.

It’s really easy to update and edit your personal details within the self service area of your portal.

We’ll assume a minimum monthly payment of 3% on all revolving credit commitments i.e. credit cards, store cards and overdrafts.

You’ll need to include any existing debt in the application. However, if the debt has less than 6 months left to run, our system will ignore it.

For information around our adverse credit criteria for Prime and Near Prime applicants, please refer to our lending criteria.

These can be found on the MSO Broker log-in page.

Our dedicated Telephone Intermediary Support Team is available from 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday. Customers can contact our Customer Contact Team from 8am - 8pm, 7 days a week.

Head to our contact page.

As soon as you register with us we’ll introduce you to your dedicated regional BDM and telephone BDM. Or, head to our team page.

Your customer’s first payment will always be at least one month after completion.

If the preferred payment date falls on the day of completion e.g. complete on 25th and chosen payment date is 25th, the first payment will be made exactly one month after completion. This is then repeated each month, and will be for the normal monthly payment amount.

If the preferred payment date doesn’t fall on the day of completion e.g. complete on 2nd and chosen payment date is 25th, the first payment will be made on the chosen date after a full month has passed. In this instance, the first payment amount will cover the interest charged in the month of completion, plus one normal monthly payment. The normal payment amount will be repeated each month thereafter.

Once their mortgage has completed, customers will be notified of their first payment date via the app.

Yes, we’re prepared to accept a gifted deposit, as long as no interest in the property is registered to a third party. We’ll also ask conveyancers to clarify the source of funds for gifted deposits.

No, we do not accept Vendor gifted deposits.

Yes, up to 5% cash incentives are allowed. Any reasonable non cash-based incentives such as white goods, carpets and curtains etc., will also be allowed.

Product fees can be added over and above the maximum LTV, and we’ll actually exclude these from the LTV calculation. However, the total loan amount, including the product fee, still needs to be affordable for the applicant.

Yes we’re more than happy to do that. You’ll see this option when you get to the fees section on the application.

Provided your firm is registered with us and you meet our terms of business, you would fill out our quick registration form on - https://intermediary.msoportal.atombank.co.uk/registration/#!/register#%2Fregister.

Following this, our mortgage administration team will process your application and you will receive a welcome call from one of our Telephone Business Development Managers to finalise your registration.

The welcome call will provide you with an overview of our applications, we’ll run through our unique selling points as well as providing you the opportunity to discuss any criteria information required.

We are running a limited distribution panel that we are continuously reviewing - please come back to us from time to time to check if you are able to register.

If an applicant has more than a 20% shareholding in the business they work for, we’ll treat them as self-employed, but if their shareholding is 20% or under, we’ll class them as employed.

Applicants who own a franchise or have a partnership interest in a business will be assessed as self-employed, as will sub-contractors who derive income from more than one contract. In all cases, we might seek references from their accountants.

We’d normally expect applicants to have been self-employed for a minimum of two years (and preferably three years) and for the business to have been profitable throughout that time.

Income for affordability is taken as follows:

• For self-employed customers, multiple year (minimum two years, preferably three years) pre tax net profit figures will be captured on the intermediary portal. The system will determine the average net profit for the applicant by taking a simple average.

The maximum LTV for self-employed applicants is 90% for Prime products and 85% for Near Prime products.

Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Contractors will be treated as self-employed. Therefore, two years’ accounts or two years’ HMRC self-assessments (SA302s or Online Tax Calculations) will have to be provided to evidence income.

Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) - Income from a partner within an LLP is acceptable and can be evidenced by providing two years company accounts. Where the appointment is too recent to be shown in the accounts, income can be validated by a letter from the managing partner confirming the applicant’s partnership share and income for the most recent financial period.

Employment type	Income bracket	LTV	Loan-to-income (LTI) ratio
Employed	Up to 60k	Any	4.49
Employed	Over 60k	Up to 90%	5.5
Employed	Over 60k	Above 90%	4.49
Self-employed	Over 75k (single income) Over 100k (joint income)	Up to 90%	5.5
Self-employed	Up to 75k (single income) Up to 100k (joint income)	Up to 90%	4.49

No, a Home Buyer report can only be instructed if a physical valuation is being carried out.

Income type	Percentage allowed	Minimum evidence required
Basic salary	100%	Latest months payslip
Area allowance	100%	Latest months payslip
Car allowance	100%	Latest months payslip
Shift allowance	100%	Latest months payslip
Housing allowance from employer	100%	Employment contract and three months payslips
Guaranteed overtime	70%	The lower of the average of the last three payslips annualised or the year to date on latest payslip Must show evidence of relevant split between salary, overtime, bonus and commission.
Guaranteed bonus/commission	70%	The lower of the average of the last three payslips annualised or the year to date on latest payslip Must show evidence of relevant split between salary, overtime, bonus and commission.
Sole Trader Net Profits	100% (average of last two year’s)	Two years SA302s or Tax calculations combined with Tax year overviews
Partnership Share of Net Profits	100% (average of last two year’s)	Two years company accounts or Accountant’s certificate*
Limited Company Director’s Share of Net Profit	100% (average of last two year’s)	Two years company accounts or Accountant’s certificate*
Limited Company Director’s Salary	100%	Two years company accounts or Accountant’s certificate*
Limited Liability Partnership Income (LLP)	100%	Two years company accounts. Where the appointment is too recent to be shown in the accounts, income can be validated by a letter from the managing partner confirming the applicant’s partnership share and income for the most recent financial period.
Pension/annuities	100%	An annual statement of pension/annuity on retirement or latest pension payslip Please note, we do not accept pension income as a sole income, the applicant must still be employed.
Personal Independence Payment, formally Disability allowance (for self)	100%	A letter from the DWP to confirm current entitlement
Second job salary	100% (where a minimum income 12 month record can be evidenced) or 70%	As per above requirements for primary job
Non-guaranteed overtime	70%	The lower of the average of the last three payslips annualised or the year to date on latest payslip Must show evidence of relevant split between salary, overtime, bonus and commission.
Non-guaranteed bonus/commission	70%	The lower of the average of the last three payslips annualised or the year to date on latest payslip Must show evidence of relevant split between salary, overtime, bonus and commission.
Investment income	70%	Most recent Savings/Investment Account statement, must be dated within the last 12 months
Rental income	70%	Last month’s bank statement showing rental income credits or current AST agreement. ARLA letters detailing potential rental income are not acceptable.
Maintenance	70%	A copy of maintenance agreement, CSA assessment or written private agreement evidenced by the latest three months bank statements
Working family tax credits	Not accepted	N/A
Child benefit and child tax credits	Not accepted	N/A
Other DWP benefits	Not accepted	N/A
Rent a room	Not accepted	N/A
Dividends	Not accepted	N/A

* Accountants certificate - if you want us to apply for an accountant’s certificate, rather than sending in accounts, then please email mortgageprocessing@atombank.co.uk with your request.

CCJs

History	Value	Notes
0 in the last 12 months 4 in 13–24 months Unlimited over 24 months	Maximum of £1000 total combined value of unsatisfied CCJs per applicant No limit if satisfied	Assessed independently from defaults

Defaults

History	Value	Notes
0 in the last 12 months 4 in 13–24 months Unlimited over 24 months	Maximum of £2,500 total combined value of unsatisfied defaults per applicant Additional £500 of unsatisfied for mail order, communications and utilities No limit if satisfied	Assessed independently from CCJs

It’s currently a maximum of 2 applicants.

Yes, our minimum loan amount for residential properties is £25,001.

Yes, the minimum property value or purchase price for residential properties is £50,000.

One thing to note - where the property is located within the M25 and the property value is less than £100,000, the application will be subject to an additional review by an underwriter.

Don’t worry, you can easily reset your username and password from your login screen. If you need help, simply call our support team on 0333 399 0055 and they’ll assist you.

Please note: your username is different to your email address and cannot have any special characters.

There are a few different reasons why your account may have been locked, so give our support team a call on 0333 399 0055 and we’ll get it sorted for you.

If an existing Atom mortgage customer wishes to complete a post contract variation (including Porting, Further Advances and Product Transfers) they must complete the following steps:

• Contact our Customer Support Team to give you, their broker, third party authority (they’re available everyday from 8am-8pm)
• Check we have their most up-to-date personal information

Once the customer has completed the above, please speak with our TBDMs to discuss your requirements before submitting any cases via the portal.

You’ll need to chase any procuration fees through your network.

We pay all procuration fees directly to your network or distributor within two weeks of completion. It’s then down to your network or distributor to pay these to you.

The App is essentially Atom Bank. Think of it as your personal branch but without the endless queuing and limited opening hours. The App will connect your customers to their mortgage, it’s where they’ll be able to track their application from Decision In Principle to completion. This even includes providing them with a copy of the DIP certificate and Mortgage Offer. As Atom is built on technology rather than bricks and mortar, there’ll be a constant stream of exciting new features launching on the App.

All mortgage applicants need to download and use the Atom bank app - it’s part of their mortgage T&Cs. If they have it already that’s great, if not, it can be downloaded at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

At the DIP stage the customer will receive a code via email and SMS, and this allows them to access the mortgage part of the App. It’s essential they have the App by the offer stage of the process, as each applicant needs to view and accept their mortgage offer and T&Cs within the App - if they don’t their mortgage can’t complete. They’ll then use the App to service their account for the lifetime of their mortgage.

They simply visit the App Store or Play Store, search for Atom Bank, then download it to their smartphone or tablet. We recommend that they do this as early as possible, and definitely by the time their mortgage offer is ready. Without the Atom Bank App they can’t complete on a property.

Just ask them to call us on 0333 399 0050 and we’ll help activate their accounts.

We try to support as many devices as possible but, as with many other apps, some are too old for us to support.

Customers are likely to have issues with our app if their device can’t run either the most recent operating system (iOS 14 for iPhones and iPads, Android 11 for Android Phones and Tablets) or the two before that (iOS 13 and iOS 12 for iPhone/iPad, Android 10 and Android 9 Pie for Android Phones and Tablets).

Customers can check which operating system a device uses:

• For Android, go to ‘Settings’ then ‘About Phone’. The operating system will be listed here
• For iOS, go to ‘Settings’ then navigate to ‘General’ and then ‘About’. The operating system will be listed under ‘Version’

All they need do is download the App again. Once they’ve done that they should be able to access their mortgage account. If for some reason they can’t, just ask them to call us on 0333 399 0050 and we’ll help fix things.

If your customer is having problems with the app, our customer contact team is on hand to help 8am - 8pm, 7 days a week. Or, we have more detailed FAQs about the app on the Atom bank website.

It’s not essential, unless of course you want to become a customer too :) For mortgage application updates, you simply log in through the website as normal and use the case tracking section.