Lender implements positive criteria changes following intermediary feedback
Loughborough Building Society has announced criteria enhancements to help address ongoing affordability issues for newly qualified professionals and for those with benefits income.
The mutual will now accept newly qualified professional applicants who were previously in education or vocational training, who have not completed six months in the role, or have a contract of employment to start in the next three months. The change – formulated following intermediary feedback – applies across all product types, up to 95% loan-to-value.
Loughborough Building Society has categorised newly qualified professionals as a medical doctor, medical consultant or surgeon, anaesthetist, optometrist, solicitor, barrister, dentist, veterinarian, pilot, and accountant.
The lender will now also accept between 50% and 100% of benefits income received, providing the income does not exceed more than half of the applicants’ total income. Each case will be assessed on an individual basis, and this change is applicable across Loughborough’s entire product range.
“Affordability, accessibility, and availability are all ongoing issues for a number of borrowers in what remains a challenging period for the economy and the UK housing market,” commented Ashley Pearson (pictured), national business development manager at Loughborough Building Society. “Therefore, it’s up to lenders to help break down some of these barriers of entry, where possible, in a responsible manner.
“These criteria changes, which have been incorporated directly on the back of feedback from our intermediary partners, will help open more doors to credit-worthy borrowers from different professional backgrounds and with different income sources. We are hopeful that they will prove popular among the target demographic.”
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