Accord Mortgages has relaxed its interest-only mortgage criteria.  

The Yorkshire Building Society-owned broker-only lender says its changes are:  

• Adding the sale of another UK property as a new acceptable repayment strategy 
• Allowing the use of a pension lump sum as a repayment strategy where the mortgage term ends after the applicant reaches the age of 55 and is eligible to receive their lump sum  
• It is lifting its loan-to-value limits where the repayment strategy is the sale of the mortgaged property from 50% to 60%, while increasing the minimum equity requirement for this strategy from £200,000 to £250,000 (and £300,000 in London)  
• The maximum LTV for part interest-only/part repayment will rise from 75% to 85%, while the maximum LTV for the interest-only element will remain at 75%  

Accord Mortgages senior manager for new propositions Nicola Alvarez says: “This is the latest example of how Accord is continually enhancing its criteria to support brokers in helping their clients to find solutions that meet their changing needs.”