Suffolk Building Society is relaxing its criteria for foreign nationals and expat borrowers.
Foreign nationals now need 12 months of UK employment and 12 months remaining on their visa to qualify, down from two years for each metric. Eligible visa types include Skilled Worker (formerly Tier 2) and Health and Care Worker visas, as well as Global Talent visas.
For expats the minimum income requirement is falling from £40,000 to £25,000, while the minimum age for expat residential borrowing has been lowered from 21 to 18.
Charlotte Grimshaw, head of intermediaries at Suffolk Building Society said: “As a building society that specialises in expat and complex income cases, it’s only natural that, as the foreign national market has grown, we’re seeing more enquiries of this nature.
“We’re particularly pleased to be able to give brokers clarity on qualifying visas, as well as help those in health and care work to get onto the UK property ladder.”
For borrowers looking to downsize at the end of their interest only mortgage, Suffolk Building Society is increasing the available loan to value (LTV) from 50% to 70%.
Other acceptable repayment vehicles include endowments, ISAs, pension lump sums, and the sale of background properties. While this update is not limited to older borrowers, it is likely to appeal particularly to those borrowing later in life.