The lender will now consider personal income to cover a shortfall in rent between 100% and 145% of the mortgage payment.
Virgin Money will now accept income to cover rental shortfalls and has lowered its interest stress rates as its looks to widen access to its buy-to-let range.
The lender will now consider personal income to cover a shortfall in rent between 100% and 145% of the mortgage payment, though there is minimum income requirement of £50,000 for this to be used, excluding money from buy-to-let properties.
The lender has also lowered the stress rate on 5-year fixes from 5.24% to 5.00%, though for all other products the stress rate will remain at 5.50%.
For product transfers where there isn’t a capital raise, Virgin will now stress against a rate of 5.50% rather than 5.99%. In this scenario the lender demands an income coverage ratio of 125% rather than 145%.
Andrew Asaam, director of mortgages at Virgin Money, said: “Virgin Money supports a wide range of segments in the mortgage market and that is why we have made a number of enhancements to our buy-to-let policy.
“The rental sector plays an important part in the make-up of the mortgage landscape and we are confident these improvements will be well-received by landlords.”
