The lender has extended the offering to the over-50s to support this borrower segment, with a minimum income of £24,000, no minimum equity requirement and no maximum age at the end of the mortgage term for single applicants.
April Mortgages will assess interest-only and part and part affordability on the basis of those repayment structures, rather than on a capital repayment basis.
The lender said this would give older borrowers options beyond specialist later life products such as equity release or retirement interest-only (RIO).
The range is available on five-, 10- and 15-year fixed rates and April Mortgages said longer-term repayment certainty could be useful to people planning changes to income, pensions and their wider finances.
It has the standard flexibility available across all April mortgages, including unlimited overpayments, automatic rate reductions when the loan-to-value (LTV) tier changes and no early repayment charges when moving home or repaying from the client’s own funds.
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The interest-only proposition for the over-50s will accept various forms of retirement income, such as state pension, private and workplace pensions and pension credit. April Mortgages can also consider 4% of the pension pot as annual income.
James Pagan (pictured), director of product, portfolio and operations at April Mortgages, said: “Being over 50 doesn’t mean borrowing needs disappear. Yet for many older borrowers, the range of mainstream mortgage options can narrow significantly as they approach or enter retirement.
“With Interest Only+, we want to give advisers another option to consider. A £24,000 minimum income for over 50s, broader acceptance of pension income and no maximum age at the end of term for sole applicants mean we can look at cases that may previously have needed to move towards specialist later life lending.
“We’ve combined that with five-, 10- and 15-year fixed rates and the flexibility that comes as standard with an April mortgage. It’s a modern approach to interest-only lending that gives advisers more ways to help their clients.”
