Lending Criteria – Applicant

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Age

• Minimum Age: 18 years
• RIO Minimum Age: 55 years
• Maximum Age: 80 years at the end of the loan (the mortgage needs to finish before the 80^th birthday of the oldest applicant)
• RIO Maximum Age: no maximum
• We do not consider earned income beyond the age of 70 years from applicants who wish to work beyond their statement retirement age (We would expect those borrowers whose mortgage terms extends beyond this age to have sufficient pension provision to support the mortgage)
• The applicant’s plans should be discussed in view of their occupation and reasonability of working beyond state pension age and should be documented

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Address History

• A minimum of 3 years residential history is required
• Applicants should be on the electoral role for this period

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Number of Applicants

• We allow up to 2 applicants on a mortgage application

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Residency Status

• Applicants must have a minimum 3 years residency in the UK.
• Applicants must have a permanent right to reside and work in the UK and/or have Settled Status for EU, EEA & Swiss citizens. Pre-settled status is not permitted.
• The Society will check Settlement Status via the Gov.UK website using a Share Code which the applicant must provide with their application.

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Credit Check

• We will carry out a credit check on all mortgage applicants

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Acceptable Credit History

Type	Standard, Shared Ownership, Further Advance, Buy to Let, Self-Build, Custom Build
CCJs/Defaults	A maximum of 1 CCJ and 1 default per applicant*, which must have been satisfied at least 12 months** prior to application and subject to the following restrictions: *Applicants with more than one CCJ/Default will be considered on a case-by-case basis. ** Cases will be considered on an individual basis where the CCJ/default has been satisfied for less than 12 months.
Mortgage/ Rent/ Loan/ Secured/ Unsecured Arrears	Below 80% Loan to value A maximum of 3 missed payments in the last 24 months. Reaching no more than a status 2 at any one time within a 24 month period. Applicants will need to be clear of any arrears for the previous 12 months. Above 80% Loan to Value Need to be clear of any mortgage/loan arrears for 24 months prior to application. Rent Need to be clear of any arrears for 12 months prior to application.
Missed Payments – revolving credit e.g. mail order, credit cards, mobile phone, overdrafts (using an unauthorised overdraft or exceeding an arranged overdraft/credit card limit)	Below 80% Loan to Value: Maximum of 3 missed payments in the last 12 months totalling no more than £500. No missed payments in the last 6 months. Above 80% Loan to Value: In addition to the above no account(s) must have had a missed payment status greater than ‘1’ in the 12 month period.
Undisclosed Credit	Not acceptable
Pay Day Loans	Applicants who have entered into a pay day loan agreement within the last 24 months are unacceptable.
Debt Management Plans (DMP) and Arranged Payments	Applicants who have had a previous debt management/arranged payment plan must have redeemed it in full more than 24 months ago.
Bankruptcy and Debt Relief Order	Applications will be considered from discharged bankrupts/DRO subject to the applicant being discharged for a minimum of 6 years.
IVAs	Applications will be considered from discharged IVAs subject to the applicant being discharged for a minimum of 3 years.
Repossession	Not Acceptable

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Identification and Verification

Identity will be certified using an Electronic Identity search (EID) where possible. Proof of Identification/address may be requires in some instances and one document from List A and one from List B below should be provided as evidence.

Please note:-

• The same document cannot be used as evidence of both name and address
• Documents are only acceptable if they are dated within the period stated
• Internet statements are not acceptable
• There are additional ID and Verification requirement for Ex Pat BTL borrowers which are listed here Ex Pat BTL Identification and Verification

All documents must be original or certified copies of documents. Copies of original documents can only be certified by one of the following:-

• UK Lawyer or Notary
• Banker
• Authorised financial intermediary
• FCA regulated mortgage broker
• Accountant
• Teacher or Lecturer
• Doctor
• Dentist
• Minister of religion
• Postmaster/sub post master
• Councillor

We will require the certifier to print their name, occupation, professional body that they belong to and contact details on each document/page (in case we need to confirm their status).

Please see Ex Pat Identification and Verification for additional requirements regarding certification

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