News

Positive news at last from mortgage lenders

Some big lenders have begun reopening their doors to British borrowers, making it easier to get a home loan.

At the start of the coronavirus lockdown, several scrapped deals or only offered loans to those with large deposits. But now Nationwide, Halifax, Virgin and Santander have all made it easier for people to qualify for a loan.

There's little doubt lenders are adapting and innovating. Nationwide have resumed loans at 85% loan-to-value (LTV), while Halifax raised its LTV level from 80% to 85%.

Meanwhile, Virgin Money have begun offering purchase mortgages again, as Santander increased its maximum loan size - from £300,000 to £500,000 - and cut fees on its residential mortgages. This is great news for the market and for borrowers who will have increased choice going forward.  It also means the post-lockdown recovery should be swifter when some semblance of normality returns.

Lenders have been changing the way they operate to cope with the lockdown and are now much more reliant on their IT systems.  One of the biggest problems has been valuations, as properties can't be visited by lenders' staff to be inspected.

Lenders are using system-generated valuations to get property purchases and re-mortgages agreed.
These are known as 'drive-by valuations' and gaining confidence in the use of these valuations has encouraged lenders to reopen temporarily closed doors.

If you'd like further information on mortgages, please call us.  We'll arrange for our independent financial adviser to phone at a time to suit you.