Equity Release
Dudley Building Society targets older borrowers
The mutual has scrapped its upper age limit for mortgage borrowers, making it easier for those approaching retirement age to take out a homeloan
Dudley Building Society has ditched upper age restrictions across its entire mortgage range in a move that will attract older customers who want to buy or remortgage and would have otherwise been caught out by age caps.
Jonathan Moore, head of credit at Dudley Building Society, said: “For too long, older borrowers have struggled to find mortgage availability, and those options which did exist generally treated these borrowers as second-class citizens by forcing them to borrow from a limited range.
“We consider all borrowers to be equally worthy of consideration, and by making our entire range available, we will demonstrate that we do not discriminate by age.”
Moore added that Dudley considers older borrowers to offer no more risk than younger customers, providing that underwriting is carried out by professional underwriters.
In early November last year, the Building Societies Association (BSA) promised to lead a review into age caps on mortgage lending within the mutual sector.
Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy at the BSA, said the industry risked having a large group of people whose financial needs were not met if it did not start to consider how demand for a mortgage might change.
