Ipswich Building Society continues drive to reach out to ‘mortgage misfits’
Richard Norrington, Ipswich Building Society chief executive. - Credit: Archant
Ipswich Building Society has stepped up its drive to support diversity in the mortgage market with the launch of a new shared ownership remortgage offer.
It is the latest in a series of new mortgage products introduced by the society this year, which has also included a return to the buy-to-let market.
The new shared ownership remortgage offer, available to direct applicants and intermediaries, includes two-year fixed rate and two-year discount deals. They are also available for purchase as well as remortgage, subject to a £350,000 maximum loan amount.
Ipswich Building Society says the products will give existing shared ownership borrowers the choice to remortgage their property and also to “staircase” – increase their borrowing to enlarge their share in the property – in a market sector where the options for borrowers seeking to remortgage are currently limited.
In addition, the society is reducing the minimum share across all of its shared ownership products from 40% to 25%, to help cater to buyers with a smaller deposit or those wishing to buy a smaller share of a property, although a minimum loan size of £100,000 applies where the share is less than 40%.
Ipswich Building Society chief executive Richard Norrington said: “We are excited to enhance our shared ownership offering to a currently underserved section of the market.
“Our new shared ownership remortgage product is a diverse addition to the mortgage marketplace and provides an option to existing borrowers who are looking to change their shared ownership deal.
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“Reducing the minimum share on our wider shared ownership range will also help make this avenue more accessible for borrowers currently finding it difficult to get on the property ladder.”
Ipswich Building Society returned to the buy-to let market in March this year, with purchase and remortgage products.
In May it launched a series of new five-year fixed rate deals targeted at the buy-to-let and shared ownership markets, as well as conventional residential buyers.
And last month it unveiled an “SOS” mortgage range to help home buyers with impaired credit profiles to regain access to the standard mortgage market.
Its range of products for so-called “Mortgage Misfits” is underpinned by the use of a manual underwriting process, which assesses the affordability of applicants, rather than the rigid computer-based systems applied by many larger lenders.
Mr Norrington added: “These new products, combined with our personal approach to underwriting, allow us to offer borrowers more choice while retaining a diligent approach to lending.”
