Your guide to Vida for intermediaries

If you wish to partner with credible mortgage providers, Vida for intermediaries might be the right one for you and your clients. Read this guide to know more

By Kath Villamayor

25 Nov 2024

Contents

Introduction to Vida for intermediaries
Products and services offered by Vida for intermediaries
How to submit a mortgage application with Vida for intermediaries
Vida for intermediaries’ eligibility criteria
Is working with Vida for intermediaries worth it?

The primary goal of the mortgage broking industry is to connect eligible borrowers with home loan providers. Mortgage brokers, also called intermediaries, help their clients find the best mortgage options for their needs. They show their expertise by comparing different products of various lending companies like high street banks, portfolio lenders, and credit unions, among others.

Intermediaries ensure that their clients will get favourable mortgage terms and rates that align with the latter’s property ownership goals. As such, working with technology-driven lenders like Vida Homeloans will be highly beneficial for your business. They have various broker tools and guides that you can use when applying for mortgages on behalf of your clients.

Want to know more about Vida for intermediaries? In this article, Mortgage Introducer will cover how this mortgage lender can help you provide the best service for your clients. We will look at Vida for intermediaries’ flagship mortgage products as well as their eligibility criteria. Continue reading if you’re curious to learn how to submit a mortgage application with Vida Homeloans.

Introduction to Vida for intermediaries

Vida for intermediaries is an intermediary-only lender in the UK that helps eligible borrowers achieve their dream of homeownership. Mortgage brokers can access Vida Homeloans’ tools and guides via their exclusive online portal for intermediaries. In this website, Vida’s partner brokers can explore a variety of resources that they can maximise for their clients and career. Some of these tools are:

downloadable documents
lending criteria
affordability calculators
Residential Maximum Loan Calculator
Buy to Let Maximum Loan Calculator
information centre page

V-Hub page

Vida for intermediaries has a V-Hub page for mortgage brokers where you can get direct access to Vida Homeloans’ underwriter who is handling your client’s case. Other benefits in using this broker tool include:

see status updates on current cases for your clients
receive market insights and commentary from our experts
get quick answers to all your queries about Vida for intermediaries’ product, criteria, and processes

With these resources and more, Vida Homeloans can be a great partner for the leading mortgage brokerage firms in the country. You can find some of them on our list of top mortgage intermediaries.

Products and services offered by Vida for intermediaries

Vida for intermediaries has a wide range of mortgage products with varying interest rates and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. This large selection is offered for both new and existing clients. We will highlight two of their flagship mortgage products: Residential and Buy to Let mortgages.

Residential mortgage

The minimum loan size for Vida for intermediaries’ Residential mortgage is £50,000. The amount which your clients can borrow will be based on the LTV ratio as well as the results of a credit reference check. Vida for intermediaries will also need to evaluate whether your clients have regular monthly commitments. These can be:

maintenance
credit card payments
personal loan repayments

Vida for intermediaries’ Residential mortgage does not apply for Helping Hand applications and for mortgage applications with three or four applicants.

Buy to Let mortgage

Vida for intermediaries also offers £50,000 as the minimum loan size for their Buy to Let mortgage. If you have clients who want to apply for this mortgage type, their applications will be subjected to LTV ratio restrictions. Vida Homeloans will also require your clients to meet their standard lending criteria.

All property loan products of Vida for intermediaries are subject to status. Read the latest updates about Buy to Let mortgages when you check out our Mortgage Types page.

How to submit a mortgage application with Vida for intermediaries

Vida for intermediaries has made it easier for their partner brokers to apply for a mortgage on their clients’ behalf. They did this by summarising the process into four stages. These stages are critical because you’ll know whether Vida Homeloans can lend to your clients or not:

Decision in Principle (DIP)
full mortgage application
initial underwriter review
document review and offer

To get an idea on what happens during each stage, let us discuss them one by one:

1. Decision in Principle (DIP)

This is the first stage where Vida for intermediaries will ask your clients for specific details. They need this to establish at the DIP stage whether your clients can borrow from Vida Homeloans. If a DIP is accepted, Vida for intermediaries will issue a DIP certification. This contains the entire list of necessary documents that they would need you to upload at the next stage.

2. Full mortgage application

After completing Vida for intermediaries’ mortgage application form, you must have the necessary documents that they require. To proceed with the application, ask your clients to pay the applicable fee.

3. Initial underwriter review

Next, Vida for intermediaries’ underwriters will make a quick decision for your clients based on the submitted details. Make sure that these documents are uploaded right at the first try to avoid any problems. Also, you should ensure that they are uploaded in a suitable format for review. This is essential to support a quick decision from Vida Homeloan’s underwriters.

For Buy to Let mortgages, valuations will be instructed once the mortgage application is submitted, and your clients have paid the fees. For Residential mortgages, valuations will be instructed after the initial review of a Vida Homeloan underwriter. The same is true for Residential or Buy to Let Fee Save Product applications.

4. Document review and offer

The final stage is when your mortgage application will be referred back to a Vida Homeloan underwriter for review and preparation for offer. For any issues (such as incorrect documentation upload or extra information required), Vida for intermediaries will contact you before they move forward with your client’s case.

Vida for intermediaries’ eligibility criteria

For mortgage brokers who would like to partner with Vida for intermediaries, your clients are required to fulfill a set of criteria. Here is a quick look at some of their requirements:

income
proof of identity
proof of address
maximum age

Let us explore each of Vida Homeloans’ criterion at length:

1. Income

For residential mortgage applications, one applicant must earn at least £15,000. Vida for intermediaries allows benefit income but it must not be considered as your clients’ main source of funds.

Vida for intermediaries will allow 100% of these types of income:

rental profit
lodger income
car allowance
regular bonus
child benefit
pension income
shift allowance
mortgage subsidy
investment income
trust fund income
housing allowances
foster care income
guardians allowance
large town allowance
court ordered maintenance
income from secondary jobs

Vida for intermediaries will consider 75% of these income types:

profit related pay supported by last P60
tronc (tips) income
regular overtime or commission; this must be supported by last P60 and last three pay slips that shows the payments

These types of income should not be your clients’ main source of funds. Still, Vida for intermediaries will accept 50% of your clients’:

universal credit
carer’s allowance
incapacity benefit
working tax credit
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)

Vida for intermediaries does not require a minimum length of current employment. However, your clients must show that they have at least three months' worth of employment history. Vida Homeloans might ask for additional information about your clients’ employment details during the assessment.

2. Proof of identity

Your clients must show evidence of their identities to secure a mortgage with Vida for intermediaries. They will recognise these documents as proof:

valid UK passport
valid UK driving licence - photo card
current firearms licence or shotgun certificate
valid non-UK passport or National ID card HM Forces or Police Warrant Card

a valid UK passport is an acceptable proof of identity based on Vida for intermediaries’ eligibility criteria

3. Proof of address

To prove your clients’ submitted addresses, Vida Homeloans will accept these documents:

HMRC correspondence
latest council tax bill
latest mortgage statement
valid UK driving licence - photo card
utility bill; must not be more than three months old
bank or credit card statement; must not be more than three months old

For bank or credit card statements, these documents must show your clients’ full name and address. Vida for intermediaries will consider internet statements as proof of utility bills and bank or credit card statements.

4. Maximum age

The maximum age set by Vida for intermediaries is at least before the mortgage applicant’s 80th birthday. For clients who are planning to retire, Vida Homeloans will still consider their applications so long as they meet the following criteria:

the applicant is under 50 years old
the applicant is over 10 years from retirement
the applicant is contributing to a pension scheme

If your clients do not meet the qualifications above, Vida for intermediaries will still consider their applications but no income will be used for affordability. The home loan that they should apply for must also be on a capital and interest basis in terms of repayment.

Is working with Vida for intermediaries worth it?

Mortgage brokers in the UK will find working with Vida for intermediaries worthwhile due to its straightforward mortgage processes. If you are seeking simple but effective solutions for your clients, Vida Homeloans is an excellent choice. They might be newer than most property loan providers, but Vida for intermediaries take pride in helping those who are typically ignored by high street banks.

Another advantage of working with Vida for intermediaries is their commitment to supporting their partner brokers, especially during financial crises and market changes. This means that your clients can expect to be prioritised. They also made the mortgage application process easy and hassle-free. With Vida, intermediaries can focus on helping their clients achieve their homeownership dreams without unnecessary complications.

If you wish to widen your options, we have other guides to mortgage lenders that might be more ideal for your clients’ needs. Check out some of them below:

Would you consider working with Vida for intermediaries? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Your guide to Vida for intermediaries