The new large-loan mortgages are in addition to the current self-build mortgages offered by the mutual but are related to projects over £1m and up to £2m.

It comes just after the government launched its Help to Build scheme to enable more people to access the self-build market. Indeed, Saffron said it would accept custom build and first-time buyers.

Tony Hall, interim head of mortgage sales at Saffron said: “We are delighted to be announcing these two new self-build products to intermediaries and that we are able to further support them, and their clients, with large self-build aspirations.”

He added: “However, brokers handling their first self-build mortgage enquiries from clients have been surprised by the product criteria, which can appear quite dissimilar than that of a typical mortgage product.

“But it is all about understanding the process and embracing it. We have tried to make this as simple as possible to encourage intermediaries to promote their self-build financing credentials as interest in building our own homes in the UK continues to increase.”

Product details

The LTV criteria are different across the two products. Product one offers 65% of the purchase price and 100% of build costs with a 75% max Gross Development Value at a two-year discounted of 4.49% (SVR -0.9%), whilst product two is 80% of the purchase price, 80% of build costs with an 80% max Gross Development Value at a 4.69% discounted rate (SVR -0.7%).

As well as accepting custom build and first-time buyers it also covers a variety of scenarios and both products are free from ERCs.

Eco building

The UK sits behind many countries worldwide in its interest to build its own homes Saffron explained. However, over the last decade particularly this has increased and as considerations around ecological building and owning greener homes has risen with millennials and Gen Z, it is only likely to continue to elevate in the years to come as the country focusses on their own carbon footprints.

To celebrate the launch of its new deals, the team from Saffron for Intermediaries is dedicating its next SFI Live webinar to self-build financing.

The one hour live and interactive webinar will focus on the product criteria, the different types of build and how they can be financed. Brokers are encouraged to join and submit questions pre-webinar and during the live broadcast.