Saffron Building Society’s maximum LTI for its Professional Income Boost will rise from five-and-a-half times to six times income for loans up to 80% loan to value (LTV). The five-and-a-half times limit is still in place at 90% LTV.
The maximum time since initial qualification has been doubled from five to 10 years, which it said would widen eligibility to mid-career professionals.
Mortgage brokers have also been added to accepted professions and the existing management consultant category has been widened to include strategy consultants, Saffron Building Society said.
Looking at its development finance proposition, the lender’s deals are now fully accessible through its broker portal and the maximum loan size has been increased from £3m to £5m.
The loan to cost has gone up from 80% to 90% and the loan to gross development value (GDV) has gone from 65% to 70%.
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The product term now goes up to 36 months to allow for longer building periods and a new pricing matrix has been brought in to “provide a clear and consistent framework”.
The framework will use GDV, loan to cost and experience to determine a model rate, with flexibility to adjust based on the case.
Saffron Building Society will accept foster income for applicants with a 12-month track record, with affordability based on the past three months’ payments. Additionally, joint visa applications no longer need to meet the £75,000 threshold individually, as long as the combined income is more than £100,000.
Documentation has been simplified, so P60s are no longer required for standard employed income cases. Self-employed limited company directors with two years of trading can submit SA302s or tax year overviews alone when borrowing up to 80% LTV, where affordability is based on salary and dividends.
Saffron Building Society said if affordability is based on net profit, fully audited accounts fewer than 18 months old will be required.
Sole traders and partnerships may submit SA302s and tax year overviews only.
Portfolio landlords now only need to provide a portfolio breakdown form at application rather than a full business plan. However, the latter can still be requested by an underwriter.
Pricing across the owner-occupied, self-employed and contractor ranges has been lowered, with reductions of up to 0.3%.
Pricing for 80% LTV five-year fixed rates starts at 4.57% for owner-occupiers, 4.87% for contractors and 5.07% for the self-employed.
Tony Hall, head of business development at Saffron for Intermediaries, said: “We’ve started the year strongly with a record quarter for completions, and our mortgage book is at an all-time high. As we continue to grow, we’re focused on making sure that progress reflects what brokers and their clients need – which is exactly what our ‘embracing different’ approach is about.
“The biggest change in this update is to our development finance proposition. With rising building costs, we’ve made it easier for developers to access the funding they need, including increasing the loan to cost to 90% and the maximum loan size to £5m.”
He continued: “Alongside development finance, we’ve made changes across our residential and buy-to-let range from extending our Professional Income Boost to 6.0x LTI, to simplifying documentation and refining criteria based on broker feedback.
“At Saffron, we believe great lending isn’t about one big change – it’s built brick by brick, with the right elements added over time. Combined with our revamped development finance offering, it puts us in a great position to keep growing with brokers and help even more clients access lending. And this isn’t the end – we have more changes planned for later in the year.”
Suffolk BS adds expat resi deals
Suffolk Building Society has brought out expat residential mortgages at 90% LTV.
The deals are available on two- and five-year fixed rate terms priced at 5.95% and 5.79% respectively, along with a two-year discount product, which is 5.79%. They have a maximum loan size of £650,000.
The lender said 90% LTV deals would better support those with smaller deposits and give them greater flexibility.
The firm said it had also lowered 80% LTV two-year fixed rates in its expat residential range by 0.1%. Pricing begins from 5.59%.
Charlotte Grimshaw, head of intermediaries at Suffolk Building Society, said: “Many people living and working abroad wish to purchase or retain property in England or Wales, either as a home for visits back to the UK or accommodation for family who wish to remain here.
“By offering a higher-LTV option, we’re allowing expats to buy a property sooner (less deposit) and facilitating those wanting to put down a smaller deposit and retain funds for home improvements or other investments. Having a home in the UK is a requirement for many expats.
“Our expat lending is growing year-on-year – this is undoubtedly down to our flexible approach to expats, and our expert sales team and underwriters who understand the nuances of expat lending. We’ve adapted our products and criteria to suit the needs of expats; the launch into 90% LTV is on the back of broker feedback.”
