The Cambridge Building Society has followed Skipton by removing upper age limits on its buy-to-let and residential mortgage ranges.
The Cambridge Building Society has followed Skipton by removing upper age limits on its buy-to-let and residential mortgage ranges.
If the society deems customers able to make repayments they will be considered for a mortgage regardless of how old they will be at the end of the term.
The Cambridge already had high lending age limits of 75 for residential and 85 for buy-to-let.
Louise Goullée, The Cambridge’s underwriting manager, said: “With a manual underwriting process it’s much easier for us to assess applications on an individual basis.
“We’ve been working towards removing upper age limits for some time so it’s great to make this a reality.”
In November 2015 the Building Societies Association published an interim report on Lending into Retirement which contained nine recommendations for lenders including reviewing the maximum age policies on mortgages. Goullée represented The Cambridge on the BSA working group.
She added: “The key priority for us as a responsible lender is, and always has been, to make sure the customer can afford to make repayments on their mortgage and that it is the right solution to their needs.
“We look at each application individually so there’s no reason for age to be a specific barrier to getting a mortgage, remortgaging to release equity or moving into the buy-to-let market.”
The move was welcomed by the BSA as Paul Broadhead, its head of mortgage policy, said: "As our interim report Lending into Retirement found, the ageing population is materially changing the demand for borrowing into and in retirement.
“It is encouraging to see The Cambridge and a number of other societies reacting positively and flexibly to this change. It is clear that building societies continue to lead the way in serving a broad spectrum of borrowers’ needs."
