Nottingham Building Society has increased its maximum loan sizes to reflect the "changing needs of the modern borrower".
Nottingham said the revision to its maximum loan sizes will enable more customers to access suitable mortgages for their “dream homes”.
It will now lend up to £1.5mn on mortgages at 75 per cent LTV and lower and £500,000 for mortgages at 95 per cent LTV.
This applies to all residential mortgages except retirement interest only, self-build, and new builds which have maximum loan sizes of £500,000, £600,000 and £750,000 respectively.
This comes as part of a series of mortgage criteria changes by Nottingham designed to “streamline” the mortgage process for both brokers and customers.
As part of these changes, the lender announced an elimination of the need for bank statements in the majority of cases where the LTV is 80 per cent or below.
This change will save “valuable” time for brokers, as they will no longer be required to upload bank statements into the portal.
However, the building society did specify that in some cases underwriters may still request bank statements if necessary to support the lending decision.
Nottingham also announced it will accept mortgage applications from individuals currently in a probationary period, subject to underwriter discretion.
These changes will mean that more customers can "confidently" apply for a mortgage with the lender, thereby broadening opportunities for homeownership.
The building society also announced support for self-employed mortgage applicants with the aim to “streamline” the process.
Previously, the lender required the submission of three years’ worth of accounts, but this has now been reduced to two years of accounts or an SA302 form, dated in accordance with HMRC requirements.
Nottingham Building Society sales director, Alison Pallett, said: “As the economic climate remains unsteady and the impact of that is felt across the housing market, brokers will become even more important to borrowers looking to navigate this environment and find the best deal.
“This is why we want to ensure that we are always looking at ways to ensure that we are streamlining our processes.
“What’s more, the realm of employment is undergoing a transformation, with an increasing number of individuals falling into self-employed classifications.
She added that it is therefore "crucial" for the industry to respond accordingly and that the new criteria will allow more self-employed workers to access mortgage financing more easily.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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