Near the end of 2023 Skipton Building Society renamed its Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor scheme to Income Booster

The name change came after Skipton surveyed 1,000 UK adults in the process of getting onto the property ladder.

The research revealed that not only were FTBs confused about mortgage terms, but 58% had no idea about the different types of mortgages available to them, meaning they could be missing out on a product that is right for them.

The confusing terms used in the mortgage spaces meant that 77% of FTBs were feeling more stressed with the process, with 70% wishing everyone would speak in plain English.

Income Booster allows potential home buyers to add up to three extra people onto their mortgage, without making them an owner of the property. Their income is factored in, which means the potential home buyer could borrow more than if you were buying on your own.

Since Skipton’s Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor product was renamed to Income Booster in October 2023 it has totalled over £274m in applications to date. Boosting total applications by 37% since 2022.

Skipton head of mortgage products Jen Lloyd commented: “It’s been great to see the growing popularity of our Income Booster Product. The intention behind the name change was to help increase awareness and accessibility amongst First Time Buyers when it comes to the different solutions available to them, by cutting through the jargon and using plain English.

“It was worrying to see in our initial research that over half of FTBs were unsure of the products available meaning they could be missing out on one that’s a perfect fit for their situation. I hope that through this change, we’ve encouraged more FTBs to research their options and find the product that could potentially help them to step onto the property ladder sooner rather than later.”