Skipton Building Society will rename its Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor loans as Income Booster mortgages in a bid “to simplify” house purchases for first-time buyers.  

The mutual says the name change is a bid to combat “mortgage journey jargon” and aims to “highlight exactly what the product is and encourage aspiring homeowners to find out more about it and see if it is a viable option that they may have not realised before”.  

The firm reveals that 60% of potential FTBs worry that their lack of understanding is delaying them from getting onto the property ladder, with 52% saying they feel they may miss out on a better deal due to not understanding the different types of mortgages available to them, in a recent survey of 1,000 aspiring homebuyers.  

The study adds that 70% of potential buyers agree that homebuying “would run smoother if everyone spoke in layman’s terms”.  

The mutual’s Income Booster scheme allows potential home buyers to add up to three extra people onto their mortgage, without making them an owner of the property.    

Skipton head of mortgages and propositions Jennifer Lloyd says: “Getting on the property ladder has become increasingly challenging, and we recognise financial assistance is often essential for aspiring homeowners.   

“We want more people to be aware of the options that are available to them such as the Income Booster scheme, which increases the amount able to borrow through assessing the main applicant’s income along with the income of up to three friends or family, which means potential home buyers could borrow more, allowing a scope of more properties or making that first step onto the ladder easier for FTBs.”