Residential mortgage lending to borrowers aged 85

We were delighted to see Nationwide’s recent move to extend its maximum age on a mortgage to 85 years for residential borrowers.

We see many clients who are in receipt of good levels of pension and other sustainable income who, because they have passed 69 years of age, are struggling to obtain a mortgage.

We have also heard that several lenders are reviewing their policy on this so there may well be others who follow suit.

When it comes to lending to older applicants, lenders do need to be responsible and equally pragmatic.

For example, it would be remiss to expect a roofer to be able to work until their 85th birthday and sustain an income on this basis.

The reality is that they would retire and be in receipt of a lower income during this time. However, many people have income which is not dependent on their physical ability to work and thus if they intend to work beyond the state retirement age, this should be taken into account.

We talk to lots of clients who are in their late 60’s and their mortgage term is about to run out.

They receive a healthy mix of pension and income and we are always really pleased to be able to assist them in remortgaging and taking a new mortgage which lets them continue to borrow into their later years.

The addition of Nationwide into the mix of lenders we can use for this type of business is fantastic news.

In the buy to let market borrowing is more readily available to age 85; however, it would be good to see more lenders revisit their policy on maximum ages to reflect the growing aging population.

If you are over sixty and are looking for property finance (residential, buy to let, commercial - whatever), do please get in touch to talk the through the options. Call my direct line below or 0345 345 6788.

 

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19th May 2016