Expert Knowledge & Professional Service

Barclays for Intermediaries is the latest major bank to lower its mortgage rates again, as fixed rates continue to become more competitively priced.

The bank has introduced a two-year fix at 3.75% available to borrowers purchasing a property. It has an £899 arrangement fee and applicants will need a 40% deposit to qualify. 

The mortgage is available to Barclays Premier with an income of at least £75,000 to a combined income of £100,000, although the rate is only 0.01% more expensive for non-premier customers. Applicants will need a 40% deposit to qualify. The minimum loan size is £5,000, and the maximum is £2,000,000. 

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “It shows how keen banks and building societies are to attract borrowers. The cheapest two-year fixes are still more competitively priced than many of the three and five-year fixes, and they are still popular, as many people still think rates will be lower in a few years' time. If you can get a sub-4% rate, I still think you are doing pretty well.”

Representative example: A capital and interest mortgage of £400,000 payable over 30 years, initially on a fixed rate basis at 3.75% until 30/09/2027 and then on the lender's 6.24% standard variable rate for the remaining 28 years. The 3.75% rate would require 25 monthly repayments of £1,852.46 followed by 335 payments of £2,425.46. The total amount repayable would be £859,970.67. This amount is illustrative and may vary, made up of the loan amount, plus interest £458,840.83) and £899 (product fee), £80 (final repayment charge), £35 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 6% APRC representative.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage, book a consultation, or complete our mortgage questionnaire. 

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage 

A Declaration of Trust is a legal document used to express the agreement between joint property owners.

It can cover specific issues such as each owner’s contributions to the purchase price, the mortgage, and other outgoings.  

Why do you need a Declaration of Trust?  

Declaration of Trusts clarifies the amounts paid by each owner and the percentage of the property owned by each owner. It also states how the proceeds will be divided when the property is sold.

Setting out your agreement in writing at the beginning can help avoid costly disputes if the relationship between the owners unexpectedly breaks down.

If you are buying a property and a third party, such as a parent, is contributing to the deposit but will not be named on the legal title, a Declaration of Trust will help protect their contribution. This is a common scenario for first-time buyers whose parents help them climb onto the property ladder by contributing to the deposit.

As a solicitor at SAS Daniels, Jessica Shore, pictured above, says: “More couples are starting to take out Declarations of Trusts when they buy a property to ensure they have some financial protection.

“Many parents are also keen to make sure the money they are putting towards the purchase stays in the family if their children’s marriage or relationship breaks down.” 

SAS Daniels Trust specialists also work alongside Steph Lyke in its residential property team to ensure Trusts are executed properly once the property purchase is completed. 

They will prepare a draft document for you to approve before sending the final document to you to sign and provide secure storage of the original Declaration of Trust in their archive.

For advice on a Declaration of Trust please get in touch with Jessica Shore in the Trusts team on 01244 305 941 or email jessica.shore@sasdaniels.co.uk  

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage  

TSB for Intermediaries is the latest lender to ease its mortgage stress tests, allowing some customers to borrow up to £30,000 more when buying their home.

The lender states that the move includes first-time buyer applications and reduces the stress rate of interest for all residential applications by up to 2% to 6.75%, or the product rate plus 1% if higher.

It expects this will boost mortgage affordability on a typical joint application by around £30,000, based on a joint income of £75,000 when they have a 10% deposit.

TSB has also increased the loan-to-income multiple on mortgage lending for self-employed customers earning over £75,000. It says self-employed customers earning between £75,000 and £100,000 can now borrow up to five times their income for mortgages when they have a 15% deposit.

Additionally, self-employed customers who earn £100,000 or more can now borrow up to 5.5 times their annual income for mortgages with a loan-to-value ratio of 85% or lower. This is an increase from 4.49 times income.

Coventry changes stress test rules 

Coventry for Intermediaries has also eased its mortgage stress test, allowing typical borrowers to borrow up to £35,000 more.

The changes will reduce stress rates for residential lending, increasing maximum borrowing by 8-15% for many applicants. That means some first-time buyers, home movers and remortgagers could see an increase in their maximum loan amount.

One of the biggest announcements this week came from Lloyds Banking Group, which confirmed that it will make an additional £4 billion of lending available to first-time buyers seeking high loan-to-income multiples.

Lending solutions with Trinity Financial

Are you looking to buy a property or remortgage and need expert advice? We’re here to help you find a solution. Our specialist brokers have extensive experience providing creative solutions to secure mortgages for our clients.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage or book a consultation

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in her Mansion House speech last night that new mortgage rules, including changes to loan-to-income limits, are being implemented immediately.

As part of the changes, lenders will be able to offer more income stretch mortgages, which means tens of thousands more people should be able to get a mortgage over the coming years.  

The Chancellor confirmed that she is raising the capital requirements asset thresholds to allow UK banks to lend more, which should “benefit the challenger banks and bring increased competition and innovation to the market.”

Rachel Reeves is also implementing lower capital requirements as part of changes to the Basel 3.1 rules for domestically focused banks, effective from January 2027, as they also aim to attract more international banks. Ringfencing rules are also being revised to address inefficiencies and promote growth.

How will the changes help smaller mortgage lenders?

Paragon Banking Group chief executive Nigel Terrington was quoted as saying the move “provides many mid-tier banks with the capacity to grow without the risk of being drawn into a regime intended for systemically important firms.

Mr Terrington adds: “We also welcome the Prudential Regulation Authority’s decision to review the internal ratings-based process. This needs to be streamlined and accelerated to enable mid-tier banks to compete more actively in the mortgage market, supporting growth and choice for homeowners and landlords.”

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage or book a consultation

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

Accord Mortgages has already responded to the relaxation of limits on higher-loan-to-income mortgages announced by the financial regulator and Chancellor Rachel Reeves by making enhancements to its product range.

Accord Mortgages, the broker-lending arm of the Yorkshire Building Society, is extending its popular ‘Boost LTI’ product, which provides access to mortgages up to 5.5x single or joint incomes, to first-time buyers with at least a 5% deposit. The lender has also lowered the minimum income qualification threshold for this product from £75,000 to £50,000.

Boost LTI has a specific range of two- and five-year fixed rates, priced between 4.1% and 5.2%. Arrangement fees range between £495 and £1,495, and mortgage sizes range between £50,000 and £5 million. 

Accord has also reduced its minimum income threshold for lending up to five times income from £75,000 to £50,000 as part of these latest mortgage changes. This policy change is not just for first-time buyers.

Yorkshire Building Society director of mortgages Ben Merritt (pictured above) commented: “Last week’s announcement by the regulators was exactly what we have been campaigning for, to loosen the shackles and enable us to support even more borrowers – and particularly first-time buyers, in being able to buy homes.”

He added: “The simple fact is that there are customers, including first-time buyers, who can afford to borrow more than 4.5 times their income, who have been shut out of this market by the existing regime.

“We can now offer them a lifeline to borrow what they need for their dream home in line with our commitment to responsible lending. This is crucial in the current economic environment where house prices in many parts of the UK continue to rise at a faster rate than incomes.”

Do many lenders offer income stretch mortgages?

The mortgage market is opening up and there is a lot of choice for borrowers planning to get on the property ladder. Trinity's brokers have access to a range of lenders offering enhanced income multiples for all types of borrowers.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage or book a consultation

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

Nationwide for Intermediaries is making it easier for more people to get on the property ladder by relaxing the income criteria for its Helping Hand mortgage, which offers lending of up to six times salary mortgages to first-time buyers.

The move follows the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) recent announcement enabling banks and building societies to increase high loan-to-income lending.

From Wednesday (16 July), eligible first-time buyers can apply for the Helping Hand mortgage with a £30,000 salary, down from £35,000, and joint applicants with a £50,000 combined salary, down from £55,000. They will still need to meet strict mortgage affordability rules, but Nationwide says this move is expected to support an additional 10,000 first-time buyers each year.

Nationwide says that it lent to more first-time buyers in 2024 than any other lender and that it has now applied to the PRA to increase its high LTI lending capacity. The lender says the vast majority of Nationwide’s high LTI lending is done through its Helping Hand product, which allows eligible first-time buyers to borrow up to 33% more than its standard lending. 

Prior to the PRA announcement last week - recommended by the Financial Policy Committee - lenders could only offer a limited amount of loans at or above 4.5 times a borrower’s income - capped at 15% of their eligible new loans.

How many first-time buyers have used Nationwide's Helping Hand product? 

The Helping Hand has assisted around 60,000 first-time buyers since its launch in 2021, which is not surprising given the significantly more generous maximum loan sizes compared to many of its competitors. 

Nationwide’s current salary thresholds were put in place to ensure that it kept within the 15% limit following exceptionally strong demand for the proposition. The society says the arrears rates on Helping Hand are lower than those of Nationwide’s standard lending due to the enhanced controls being applied.

First-time buyers need to take a five or ten-year fix with the Helping Hand product

The availability of Helping Hand is subject to many factors, for example credit score and how much debt the applicant has. 

• All applicants must be first time buyers.
• 5 and 10 year fixed rates available providing first-time buyers have a 5% deposit.
• The minimum income of £30,000 sole applicant or £50,000 for joint applicants. You can include all income sources (except self-employed income).
• The maximum lending limits depend on the application. 

Nationwide won’t accept applications with the following:

• Self-employed income for either applicant.
• In conjunction with any scheme or non-standard ownership type. For example, First Homes, Shared Ownership, Genuine Bargain Price, Right to Buy and Help to Buy.
• The mortgage cannot be taken on Interest Only.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7267 9399 to secure a mortgage or book a consultation

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage