The Cambridge Building Society removes upper age limit for mortgage borrowers

Cambridge Building Society customers who are assessed as able to make repayments will be considered for a mortgage, regardless of how old they will be at the end of the term.

  To show its commitment to older borrowers, The Cambridge Building Society has removed upper age limits on both residential and Buy to Let mortgages.

Customers who are assessed as able to make repayments will be considered for a mortgage regardless of how old they will be at the end of the term.

The Cambridge already had generous lending age limits in place with a residential age limit of 75 and an 85-year-old limit on Buy to Let mortgages.

Underwriting Manager Louise Goullée (pictured) said: “With a manual underwriting process it’s much easier for us to assess applications on an individual basis.

“We’ve been working towards removing upper age limits for some time so it’s great to make this a reality.”

Last year Louise represented The Cambridge on the ‘lending to older borrowers’ working group set up by the Building Societies Association.

The BSA published an interim report on Lending into Retirement in November 2015 which contained nine recommendations for lenders to consider including reviewing the maximum age policies on mortgages.

Louise said: “The key priority for us as a responsible lender is, and always has been, to make sure the customer can afford to make repayments on their mortgage and that it is the right solution to their needs.

“We look at each application individually so there’s no reason for age to be a specific barrier to getting a mortgage, remortgaging to release equity or moving into the Buy to Let market.”

The move has been welcomed by the BSA with the Head of Mortgage Policy Paul Broadhead commenting:  "As our interim report Lending into Retirement found, the ageing population is materially changing the demand for borrowing into and in retirement.

______________________________________



Read more

Looking for something specific?