With demand growing for more flexible mortgage solutions, Family Building Society is carving out a strong reputation in later life, family-assisted, and buy to let lending. We speak to Nathan Waller, Business Development Manager at Family Building Society, to discuss how they’re supporting brokers, addressing complex borrower needs, and adapting to an evolving market.

What are the main lending areas of the market that Family Building Society covers and the types of products on offer?

At Family Building Society we offer tailored solutions that prioritise flexibility. Our manual underwriting approach means that we can be client-centric and use common sense in our lending decisions. We’re most known in the later life and buy to let spaces but we offer lending solutions for all – whether its supporting first time buyers onto the property ladder, expat borrowers, those with complex income streams such as self-employed, right through to borrowers up to 95 years of age.



In the later life space, we have a refreshing stance compared to many high street lenders and brokers are often surprised by how we can help. We often see clients who have come to the end of their term at another lender and are unable to remortgage simply because of their age. We don’t have a ‘computer says no’ view. Our generous criteria goes all the way up to age 95 at the end of term for repayment mortgages and up to 89 years at application for Interest-Only and Buy to Let. We can consider income up to age 70, or even aged 75 if the borrower is in a non-manual role, and can look at rental income, state and private pensions. One key difference is the way we look at pension pots and investments. Some lenders will only take a small percentage of a pension pot, typically 3%, and assume this as income. Others won't consider pension pot income at all if it's not already in drawdown. At Family Building Society, we can use up to 90% of the value in the pot divided by the length of the mortgage term. For example, if a client has £500,000 in a pension pot, we can take 90% of that (£450,000), divided by a 10-year term, providing £45,000 as income on the application. The key thing is they do not have to draw from their pension pot, so it’s a great way of monetising an asset.



Buy to Let is another strong area for us where our flexible criteria can help clients, especially with continued regulatory and economic shifts landlords are currently facing. At Family Building Society we don’t stress test any background properties in the portfolio, they only need to be self-financing properties. There is no minimum income, we accept applications up to age 89 and for expat Buy to Let cases we can consider applications from over 40 counties, plus further countries through agreed packagers.

As our name suggests, intergenerational lending is at the heart of what we do, and a key example of this is our Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) proposition, where up to four incomes can be used to assess affordability. While typically aimed at first-time buyers, they’re also available for next-time buyers and remortgages as well. JBSPs have got far more traction over the last few years and we’ve definitely seen an increase in applications. With the continued cost of living pressures, steep house prices and high interest rates, first time buyers are struggling to meet affordability and the change in stamp duty thresholds is only going to make that harder.



We also offer reverse JBSP where adult children can help their parents with affordability, and this is another area where we’re seeing more and more business Whether a grey divorce, a spouse who’s passed away, or reaching retirement and seeing a drop in income, some older borrowers are unable to meet affordability on their own. It’s no longer just the Bank of Mum and Dad helping out, but more of a family affair.

How does Family Building Society differ from other building societies?

A key strength of our offering is our manual underwriting approach. It is so important for us that we look at a case on an individual basis. We've got criteria that, in some parts, can be quite flexible. We have a range of different solutions that can be a bit more bespoke.

We have a focus on personal service, and this extends through our Business Development Managers. Since the beginning of 2024, our team has expanded to cover brokers throughout England, Wales and Scotland. Our BDMs are here to support brokers on a daily basis via phone, arranged meetings or at events and exhibitions. The team are very visible and pride themselves on the fact they’re always available to discuss cases, carry out affordability assessments, review credit files - they’re always be on hand to find a way to make a case work. At the end of the day, we're looking for reasons to lend rather than reasons not to lend.

We're very fortunate to have a team of underwriters that are adaptable as well. I can speak to underwriters on a daily basis and get a case agreed before the application even comes in. We credit check, rather than credit score, and this way we can consider blips in people's financial history where other companies can’t. For example, if an applicant has missed a payment on a mainstream loan or credit card or they've had a small CCJ that they've satisfied, a mainstream lender would say no. However, we would say, let us take a look and if you can give us a reason why that happened, then we can refer the case to an underwriting manager to consider. That is what our BDMs are here to do, they’re here to try and make a case fit and give the client – and the broker advising them - as many options as possible in order to achieve the best possible outcome.

The way we assess affordability is also a key differentiator as we can look at multiple income streams from various businesses, rental, pension and investment income, use pension pots and investments and consider limited company director's salary and dividends. We can also look at assets in the background that aren’t being drawn upon. Some lenders may not look at all of these and will consider complex incomes streams as too complicated. Our approach allows us to make a sensible decision based on the merits of each individual application.

What are the Society’s aims for this year and which areas of the market do you anticipate to be most busy in?

In 2025, we aim to continue to increase our scope and visibility so that we can help more intermediaries to help their clients. Education is a key focus for us because many intermediaries are just not aware of what options are available to their clients such as in the case of later life lending. Many simply don’t know that there are alternatives to equity release or RIOs and that clients can have standard repayment and interest-only mortgages well past retirement which are often a lot more cost effective. Our BDMs are out at events, roundtables, taking part in debates and delivering podcasts so that intermediaries, and clients in turn, are better informed and can choose the best solution for their needs.



We’ve made several changes over the past year to enhance our proposition. Intermediaries are really important our Society, bringing in about 90% of our mortgage business. Therefore it’s vital that we listen to them and try to make changes, where possible, to help them to service their clients.

In January we took a strategic step forward to improve our Buy to Let criteria aligning with broader market trends and providing additional support to landlords in an uncertain market. We increased our maximum LTV for all UK Landlord, Limited Company and Expat Buy to Let products from 70% to 75%.

Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) have gained significant traction in the rental market, reflecting evolving tenant demand and the increase in professional landlords wanting to diversify. In February this year, we launched a HMO offering. This is a natural progression in our journey, establishing our strong position in the market.

With the continued importance of the Bank of Family and intergenerational support, last year we widened the family members who could support our JBSP mortgages. As well as parents, now grandparents, siblings, aunt and uncles can come on to the mortgage to help the occupying borrowers.

However, we recognise that affordability is still tough, for first time buyers in particular, even if they have family support. Many are struggling to save for the large deposits needed, especially with the increase in stamp duty thresholds this year. Therefore, in March we made a move to improve our JBSP offering, by increasing LTVs up to 90% for loan sizes up to £500,000. And for those needing to borrow more, we also increased the max loan size up to £1,000,000.

What should intermediaries do if they have a query or a potential case?

Talk to us! We have a large BDM team covering the whole of England, Wales and Scotland. We’re always on hand to help and support intermediaries and can talk through a case before submission. We can discuss a range of options for your client to find the best one. Pick up the phone, drop us a line or come and see us at one of the many events we attend.



Our approach can be delightfully unexpected. We take great pride in the how we do things, and it works.

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