Property
General policy |
Buy-to-Let policy | Income | Property |
Special lending situations
Index
Overview
The property must be situated in England,
Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland and must be Freehold,
Leasehold, Commonhold (or Absolute Ownership (Scotland only).
The property must be of good quality, in good
condition, of traditional construction and must be a single
dwelling used solely for residential purposes.
Back to Index
Construction
- Conventional brick/tile/stone/slate
- Thatched house
- Any other types of property construction, please contact your
Business Development Manager
Back to Index
Acceptable property types
Converted or purpose-built flats
- Local-authority blocks not acceptable over 4 storeys
Flats over shops
- Max 80% LTV
- The whole property must be in good condition with no repairs
required (except minor cosmetic ones)
- The owner of the flat and the shop cannot be the same person as
this would have legal implications in the event of
repossession
Studio flats
- Mortgage underwriters will consider studio flats in some
circumstances
Ex-council house/flat
Back to Index
Unacceptable property
types
- Properties with no inside WC
- Properties with no bathroom
- Farm/small holdings and properties where there is land subject
to current agricultural use are unacceptable
- Town-planning restrictions – properties with a town planning
restriction that mean they can be occupied only by a person
employed in agricultural are unacceptable
- Properties with time restriction on occupancy
Back to Index
Recently converted properties
All recently converted properties (defined as
converted within last 10 years) must have suitable
certification.
The definition of converted properties includes flats formed by the
conversion of a house or a warehouse, eg in the dockland area of
London; houses formed by the conversion of barns, schools or
churches; and also includes individually designed/singly developed
types of properties.
It is the responsibility of the solicitor to
ensure that converted properties have suitable certification.
Applications that do not have this documentation will be referred
to underwriters.
For properties less than 10 years old and
recently converted properties, a warranty must be available
from:
- The NHBC, Zurich Municipal, Premier Guarantee, BLP Housing
(Building Life Plan), or a Self Build Zone warranty
certification
Alternatively, a suitable certificate of
satisfactory completion must be available from:
- A fully qualified architect who is a member of the RIBA
- A fully qualified member of the Institute of Architectural
Technicians
- A qualified surveyor who is a member of RICS
- A civil engineer with qualifications FICE or MICE
- A structural engineer with the qualifications MI Struct. E or
FI Struct E
The above requirement also applies to
individually designed properties.
Back to Index
Properties with land
Up to and including 10 acres of land are
acceptable, provided there is vacant possession and no farming
activity or agricultural planning restrictions. For
remortgages there must be no tenancies in place.
Back to
Index
New builds/Newly converted properties
- A new build/new converted property is defined
as any property mortgaged within 6 months of being occupied for the
first time
- Max 80% LTV for new-build residential properties
- Max 65% LTV for new-build Buy to Let properties
- This also applies to newly converted properties
Disclosure of Incentives Form
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has introduced a Disclosure of
Incentives form which must be completed by the developer for
all new build properties (including properties
that have been newly converted or renovated). The form must be made
available to the valuer and the conveyancer.
Back to Index
Tenure
- Freehold property
- Leasehold house/flat
- Absolute ownership house/flat (Scotland)
- Commonhold (flat)
- Flying freehold (subject to solicitor/valuer approval)
- Minimum lease required on application is 60 years
- Minimum lease required on redemption is 25 years
Back to Index