Mortgage Lending Criteria vary from lender to lender and they change fairly regularly.

Set by the mortgage lender’s underwriters, the criteria are decided upon as part of the lender’s risk management of their entire ‘lending book’s’ portfolio.

Some lenders will be prepared to accept what they consider to be riskier mortgage terms in return for a higher return on the loan. Others are keen to keep risk lower and therefore lend more ‘vanilla’ debt to less risky borrowers. But it’s not just the profile of the borrower that will be part of the lender’s lending criteria.

In fact, that is just a small part of the underwriting process. In addition, lenders will have policies with regard to;

• Maximum Loan Value
• Loan to Value %
• Number of applicants that may apply on any one loan
• Minimum deposit amount
• Personal Circumstances (i.e. married or single, employed or self-employed, past employment history, adverse credit history, etc)
• Address history (including BFPO addresses)
• Policy with regard to shared ownership
• Remortgage policy
• Early repayment policy & fees
• Mortgage Type (i.e capital repayment or interest only, etc)
• Valuation Charges and Admin Fees
• Acceptable Property Types (e.g. Thatched houses, flats over shops, multi-storey flats over say 5 stories, etc)
• Acceptable Tenure (i.e long leases / leases under 50 years, etc)
• Supporting documentation and affordability criteria
• Stress Test Criteria (i.e changes due to loss of income or increased interest rates)
  Nationality & Immigration status

Each mortgage lender will have different terms and in most cases these terms are non-negotiable. The bad news is that finding the right lender to lend you a mortgage can be very time consuming. The good news is, Mortgage Required can offer you advice and mortgage options based on lender’s criteria and your own personal circumstances. It’s what we do.

One lender’s ‘no thanks’ can be another lender’s ‘yes please’! Why not contact us to see just how we can help you through the process?

For more information or to speak to a mortgage adviser, contact us on 01628 507477.

Related articles:

• What does Loan to Value (LTV) mean?
• How much Deposit do I need to buy a House?
• What Credit Checks do Mortgage Companies do?