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Yorkshire Building Society restricts mortgage lending

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
01/04/2020

The mutual is the latest provider to limit its lending to borrowers with larger deposits

Yorkshire Building Society has restricted its mortgage lending in response to the Coronavirus crisis.

It said it made the move because its valuers were currently unable to visit properties and carry out physical inspections.

As a result, mortgages for home purchases will be limited to 75% loan to value, meaning borrowers will need at least a 25% deposit.

Remortgages are limited to 85% loan-to-value, so borrowers will require minimum equity of 15% to access a deal.

In addition, lending on certain property types has been halted, no matter what the loan to value, as they cannot be valued effectively.

These include new build properties, flats, properties in Northern Ireland, non-standard methods of construction and properties valued at more than £1m.

Chris Irwin, director of trading at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “In light of the restrictions on valuations, we have reviewed our policies to enable us to continue lending, where an alternative to a physical valuation can take place.

“We hope these new guidelines will give clarity to both new customers and those with applications in the pipeline and allow our underwriting teams to progress the cases which fall within the guidelines as quickly as possible.”

Applications in Scotland

Yorkshire Building Society confirmed that Scottish completions will continue to take place, following guidance issued by UK Finance, the Law Society of Scotland and Register of Scotland, along with advice from its own Scottish legal advisers.