Vida Homeloans has updated its residential lending standards, increasing the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio to 90% for purchases in below-value situations.
The lender will increase the maximum down payment to 100% of the discounted purchase price for owner-renter purchases, subject to a maximum of 90% of open market value.
For owner-to-tenant purchases, the customer must have rented the property for at least 12 months.
Eligible family transactions include purchases from parents, siblings, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and certain other eligible relatives.
Meanwhile, Vida also announced that it will change its income criteria by increasing the proportion of Universal Credit that can be taken into account for affordability from 50% to 75%.
This excludes any housing allowance or any child item where the child/children are over 12 years of age when applying.
The lender is also reducing the supporting evidence requirement from 12 months to three months of Universal Credit award data.
Universal Credit must not be the applicant’s main source of income and is assessed individually.
The lender says the changes are designed to give brokers greater flexibility when supporting clients with a wide range of circumstances.
“Our broker partners have told us that customers need more support on lower value transactions, with family members or landlords unable to offer a 25% discount on the purchase price,” says David Angell, managing director of mortgage product management at Vida Homeloans.
“So, I’m delighted that we are able to announce the improved policy today, which will give brokers and their clients more choice. These changes, along with the improved Universal Credit assessment, strengthen our standards and help brokers support a wider range of clients.”
