The Yorkshire entered the buy-to-let market in August 2011, offering products through its intermediary lending subsidiary, Accord Mortgages, initially in London and the South East.
The society’s move to extend its geographical reach is the third phase in its measured entry into the market.
Yorkshire’s head of buy-to-let, Jeremy Law, said: “We’ve taken the last few months to ensure our processes are in place and to seek feedback from our lending partners, which has resulted in a review of our criteria and a number of key changes.”
Changes to the society’s criteria include a reduction in the minimum property value from £150k to £100k, a reduction in the minimum applicant age from 30 to 25 and the removal of a 40-mile radius restriction from borrower to property location restriction.
Other changes include acceptance of broker-certified copies of documentation over original documents and a reduction in the minimum income for an applicant from £35k to £20k.
Law added that buy-to-let will continue to form part of Accord Mortgage’s range, however prime residential lending will remain its focus throughout 2012.
Jeremy added: “We do not see ourselves dipping in and out of the market, we are very much here to stay and will be an active lender in the market all year round.”
Click here to read Mortgage Solutions’ exclusive interview with Yorkshire’s Jeremy Law.
