Following a successful pilot scheme through two intermediary firms earlier this year the society has now begun a phased roll-out of its new range of contractor mortgages.
Martin Richardson, Leeds Building Society’s general manager – business development, said: “We realised that while the number of professional contractors is growing, they currently have very limited choice when it comes to securing a mortgage.
“We are keen to broaden this choice and have looked at the difficulties contractors encounter through traditional underwriting and how we might overcome these.
“We aim to provide innovative mortgage products which also meet a borrower’s individual circumstances.
“Unlike other lenders, we will accept 12 months’ experience, in any sector, and our range includes offset versions of our two, three and five year fixed rate mortgages, as we know many contractors typically save to cover the times they are not working.
“When underwriting, the Society also allows for a six week break between each contract, comparing favourably with the industry norm, which only allows a total of six weeks in total per year.
“The initial pilot of the new products with two specialist intermediaries was well-received and gave us more feedback from contractors and brokers to further refine the range, which we’re now looking to roll out more widely.”
