What Scottish home buyers need from their mortgage lenders

By Tatyana Stefanova, Business Development Manager for Scotland
They say all good things come to those who wait, and that was the case with our residential mortgage range in Scotland.
We had a few more i’s and t’s to cross before it was ready to go north of the border, but now it is here we’re keen to get to work on making mortgages simple for Scottish homebuyers.
Quite frankly, as well, they could do with our assistance.
Lots of stats
So why am I making big claims about the need for more bespoke mortgage lending in Scotland?
Well despite a 15-year record for new homes built in 2022 – including 9,272 affordable homes, with a further 20,000 new builds being started by the end of last year – the housing market is still feeling the impact of Covid and last year’s budget.
According to quarterly stats from the Scottish government, while house sales were close to their pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022, this has been weakening. House prices continue to grow – albeit at a slower pace.
At the same time in the rental market, average rents have gone up, despite government attempts to legislate with rent caps and additional taxes on second homes.
So what does this tell us? There are homes to buy. Renting is more expensive. But activity is slowing down.
This is understandable given three challenging years putting more people into a history of adverse, while wages failing to keep up with inflation put pressure on affordability, especially for first-time buyers. What can be done? Well I think you can see where I’m going with this
Our residential mortgage offer
Now this range isn’t here to promise the world, but it is a comprehensive set of options for your homeowner customers who may struggle even more in a challenging mortgage environment and may not get a mortgage elsewhere.
- History of adverse brought on by a challenging few years? Flexible credit criteria and a common sense to underwriting
- Struggling with affordability? Up to 6.49x LTIs, multiple income streams allowable up to 100% of income
- Specific Credit-Friendly, Qualified Professional and Key Worker mortgages.
Up to 90% LTV, with interest only up to 70% LTV, our range also fits in neatly for people remortgaging in a new environment where they may be discounted from mortgage lenders’ acceptable criteria; so-called ‘mortgage prisoners’.
The housing market has – always – been exceptionally resilient because of the importance we place on owning our own home. The properties are there, we just need to support buyers to get into them.
LendInvest Loans Limited is a company registered in England & Wales with Company No. 09971600.
LendInvest Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN:737073). LendInvest Loans Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of LendInvest plc.
Borrowing through LendInvest involves entering into a mortgage contract secured against property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not repay your mortgage in full.