Key criteria

Buying your first home, remortgaging, or planning home improvements? Our key lending criteria can be found below.

 

• How much can I borrow?
  • Loans are available from £100,000 up to £5 million
  • Mortgage terms are available from 3 to 40 years

  The maximum  you can borrow depends on the property's value 

  Up to £1.25 million	75% of the property's value
  £1.25 million to £1.5 million	70% of the property's value
  £1.5 million to £3 million	65% of the property's value
  £3 million to £4 million	60% of the property's value
  £4 million to £5 million	50% of the property's value

   

• Who can apply?

  You may be able to apply if:

  • You live outside the UK and will continue to live outside the UK when your mortgage completes
  • You are aged 18 or over
  • You will be no older than 75 when you apply and no older than 85 when your mortgage ends
  • Up to two people can apply together

  Unfortunately, we cannot accept applications from people who:

  • Live in certain restricted countries
  • Are Chinese nationals living in mainland China or are residents in either Australia or the EU
  • Have been declared bankrupt, entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), had a property repossessed, or used a formal debt management solution
• Income requirements

  If You're Employed

  You will normally need:

  • An annual income of at least £50,000 if applying on your own
  • A combined annual income of at least £80,000 if applying with someone else
  • At least six months in your current job
  • To have successfully completed any probation period

  If you're buying your first property or your first rental property, you'll normally need at least two years of employment history. Existing property owners will need at least one year of employment history.

  If You're Self-Employed

  You will normally need:

  • An annual income of at least £75,000 if applying on your own
  • A combined annual income of at least £100,000 if applying jointly
  • At least two years of trading history
  • Evidence of your income, such as accountant-certified accounts or tax assessments

  If You're Retired

  You will normally need:

  • Pension income of at least £50,000 if applying on your own
  • Combined pension income of at least £80,000 if applying jointly
• Property requirements

  The property must:

  • Be located in England, Wales or Scottish mainland
  • Be used as a rental property not for family to reside in even if on Buy-to-let terms 
  • Be worth at least £150,000
  • Have a floor area of at least 30 square metres
  • Have an EPC rating of A, B or C, or a D rating that can be improved to C or above
  • Have at least 85 years remaining on the lease if it is leasehold

  The property cannot:

  • Be lived in by you or your family
  • Be a holiday let or Airbnb property
  • Be used for commercial purposes
  • Be a retirement property or a property with occupancy restrictions
  • Be a houseboat, caravan, park home mobile home or timeshare
  • Be smaller than 30 square metres
• Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

  We may consider HMO's if: 

  • The property is in England 
  • It has no more than six bedrooms 
  • It is worth at least £200,00
  • The property has any required HMO licence 
• If You Own Multiple Rental Properties

  If you own four or more mortgaged buy-to-let properties, we'll review your existing property portfolio as part of your application.

• Acceptable Tenancy Agreements

  We can usually accept:

  • Standard residential tenancy agreements
  • Corporate lets with terms between 12 months and 3 years
  • Student lets in England and Wales

  We cannot accept:

  • Holiday lets or Airbnb arrangements
  • Tenancies where you or a family member will live in the property
• Quick checklist

  You may be eligible if you: 

  • Live outside the UK
  • Meet our minimum income requirements
  • Have a good credit history with no bankruptcy or repossessions
    
  • Are buying a property worth at least £150,000
  • Meet or deposit requirements