Hope for first time buyers as Saffron relaunches 95 per cent LTV deal

Published: 15/08/2012

Saffron Building Society has confirmed it has reinstated its 95 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage for first time buyers who have been paying rent for a minimum of 12 months.

The building society will use the applicant’s rental payment history as evidence that they can afford a mortgage of equivalent monthly repayments.

Jon Hall is the Chief Executive at Saffron:

“We know that there are many potential first time borrowers who are capable of supporting a mortgage as they have been paying these amounts in rent already, but are frozen out of the market by the large deposits required.

“We steer clear of the ‘computer says no’ approach adopted by too many lenders. Our manual underwriting looks at each case individually to assess the affordability of the mortgage for the applicant.”

The lender had originally pulled the deal from the market back in October as it had used all of its funding for the product.

The product, which has a fixed rate of 6.49 per cent until 29 February 2016 and a £195 arrangement fee, is currently available on a repayment-only basis direct to clients and via intermediaries in the Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire areas.

Content correct at time of publication