Foundation Home Loans has announced a series of new enhancements to its residential mortgage product range.

The intermediary-only specialist lender revealed that its residential range – aimed at borrowers who narrowly miss the requirements of mainstream high-street lenders – includes both two and five-year fixed-rate products, from 65% LTV moving up to 90% LTV for the first time.

Foundation indicated their enhancements will open up the residential mortgages to more borrowers that just narrowly miss the mainstream lenders – and to borrowers with accidental or historical blips, as well as those with credit blips in the last year.

Foundation director of marketing, Jeff Knight, said: “We believe there are a growing number of borrowers who might best be described as ‘mainstream misses’ – essentially clients who, for any number of reasons, don’t meet the criteria requirements of the larger, high-street lenders.
 
“Our residential offering is aimed at firmly at these borrowers and, as long as they don’t have mortgage arrears in the last 36 months, Foundation has the residential product range which should satisfy advisers and their clients’ needs.”

Foundation also revealed plans to simplify its residential mortgage application process by asking for fewer documents and reducing reference requests – meaning it no longer requires bank statements for all cases, only in selected scenarios.
 
The lender announced it has increased its maximum loan sizes across all LTV bands. Previously, Foundation would only lend a maximum of £750,000 regardless of LTV, though following the enhancements it will now lend up to £2m at 65% LTV, and a maximum of £500,000 for borrowers seeking 90% LTV mortgages.
 
Knight added: “We’ve introduced a number of criteria enhancements designed to make life as easy as possible for such clients, and to broaden our offering to ensure that credit-worthy borrowers – who might just have some historical credit blips – can still secure competitively-priced mortgage finance.
 
“That means we are now lending at 90% LTV for the first time, plus we’ve increased our maximum loan size to £2m, and we’re requesting less documentation, depending on individual circumstances. We’re also assessing missed credit card payments alongside revolving credit, and allowing one unsatisfied CCJ and ignoring certain defaults under £250.
 
“These minor credit blips may push certain borrowers outside the ‘norms’ of the mainstream lenders, but we believe they are still very much credit-worthy and we have the overall product offering, criteria and service to ensure they get the mortgages they deserve.
 
“Prices have also changed across the range, and we would urge those advisers with clients who have these types of credit blips to contact their regional or telephone BDM to see how Foundation can support them.”

Share Story: