As of Monday 6 August 2018, we will be making some changes to our lending policy.  A summary of the main changes are shown below:

Changes to property criteria

What From To
Leasehold term Minimum 75 years unexpired Minimum 120 years unexpired
Acceptable land size Maximum of 20 acres Maximum of 3 acres
Approved repair schemes authorised by PRC homes Refer Not acceptable
Cross wall construction Refer Not acceptable
Properties within 75 metres of pylons overhead power  cables and/or mobile phone masts Refer Not acceptable
Properties with an annexe or self-contained accommodation Refer Not acceptable
Properties adjacent to commercial premises or in a predominantly commercial location Refer Not acceptable
Studio flats Refer Not acceptable
Flat roofs in good condition Refer Acceptable up to 25% flat roof

Not acceptable if 100% flat roof

Refer if between 26%-99% flat roof
Thatched roofs Acceptable Refer
Ex Local Authority Houses Acceptable Minimum valuation £100,000
Properties with 5-7 bedrooms Acceptable Refer
Properties with more than 7 bedrooms Acceptable Not acceptable

 Changes to borrower criteria

What From To
CCJ’s /Debt Management Plans/IVAs No set policy Defined limits – considered subject to a maximum of 5 unsatisfied CCJ’s, subject to a total maximum amount of £20,000.
Ownership Practice of allowing a borrower to be removed from the title to qualify for age criteria All registered owners of the property must be party to the mortgage.  Cannot accept if registered owners wish to sign over their interest for equity release to proceed
Proof of Address No set policy Required if the borrowers are not listed on the voters roll

New/formalised criteria

  • Customer(s) must be resident in the UK for the last three years prior to application
  • For all leasehold property, the maximum value of acceptable ground rent cannot exceed 0.1% of the current market value
  • The maximum value of acceptable ground rent and service charge on a combined basis cannot exceed 1.5% of the current market value

Please also note that from Monday 6 August 2018, we will no longer be issuing a copy of the valuation report with the offer documents.

Our revised ‘Acceptable Properties Guide’ will be available from Monday 6 August 2018 and can be found here:

https://www.justadviser.com/support/product-literature/lifetime-mortgages-literature/

When will these changes take effect?

These changes will be implemented as at 9am on Monday 6 August 2018.

What will happen to pipeline cases?

All new quotes received from Monday 6 August 2018 will need to adhere to the new policy.

For pipeline quotes, applications must be received by Monday 13 August 2018 to secure the previous lending criteria.  All applications received after this date will need to adhere to the new policy.

Just a click or call away

If you have any further questions on the information above or would like to discuss a specific case, please contact our customer care team on 0345 302 2287 or by email at support@wearejust.co.uk.