In my first blog as head of intermediary mortgages at Newcastle Building Society, it’s good to be the bearer of excellent news.
We have all been through some difficult times in the last couple of years and in many ways, they continue to be a tricky period for borrowers.
Notwithstanding the record low interest rates still around, house prices remain steadfastly resilient to any real downward pressure and the lack of supply of new and current stock coming to market makes it feel likely this will remain the case. For that reason alone, affordability issues continue to affect many home-owners and movers and, while it is tempting to assume these issues are always most acute for younger or first-time borrowers, the truth is that everyone across the borrowing spectrum continues to encounter difficulties.
Those with complex incomes and larger mortgage requirements are no exception.
As a building society whose purpose it is to help people own their own homes, it is part of our mission to help everyone who needs it. Borrowers requiring large loans are no exception to this challenge so we have an offer now that will help those who find themselves requiring larger finance at competitive LTVs, good income multiples and that can accommodate 100% of income.
Full details are available on our website and through social media but forgive me if I point out a couple of additional highlights that in conjunction with competitive income multiples (up to 5.25% on loans of £2m at the underwriter’s discretion) and Loan to Values of 80% up to £1m, mean we have a range that addresses the major issues facing so many large loan borrowers.
First off is the fact that these new loans are available on Interest Only and Capital Repayment which makes a huge difference to affordability. Second is that this range acknowledges the issues around using and proving the value of bonus or commission income.
Complex income is a stumbling block for all kinds of borrowers in a gig economy where huge swathes of borrowers earn their livelihoods from many disparate sources. Bonuses have been particularly tricky for obvious reasons but, through our large loan range, we now take up to 100% of frequent (monthly and ‘on payslip’) bonus payments, whether these are overtime, bonus or commission. If the additional payments are less frequent, but the borrower has a two-year track record on their P60s and their gross income exceeds £100,000, we will still consider the application.
All this nuance of course means brokers have direct access to senior underwriters for pre-case discussions to ensure every case gets the right hearing. All in all, this is another part of our intermediary proposition that complements many of the avenues of support we have in place for borrowers.
