Scarborough has raised the LTV ratios from 80 to 85 per cent. Other features of the range include allowing overpayments of up to 20 per cent on all products without penalty, cashback mortgages, and fee assisted options across the range.
There are credit repair and self-certification options on all mortgages and the switch-to-fix option on tracker products will remain.
Tony Burdin, head of group marketing, said: “The mortgage market has shifted significantly over the past six months, with affordability issues squeezing both homeowner and investor activity.
“We have introduced the free legal service on re-mortgages to make the process more seamless and affordable for our customers. We hope this, coupled with our cashback and fee-assisted products, will meet the changing needs of homebuyers in 2007.”
Scott Richford, product marketing manager for Mortgage Talk, commented: “Any lender should consider having free legals, as it widens the options for clients and is likely to attract more business. It’s all dependent on what client want and can help if clients doesn’t want to use their own solicitor. Raising their buy-to-let LTVs brings Scarborogh more in line with the rest of the market place. However, the key thing is the rental assessment of how much borrowers can be loaned.”
