Ipswich BS extends help for mortgage misfits

Ipswich Building Society has launched five new mortgage products to increase its support for “mortgage misfits”, specifically the self-employed and contractors.  

The new products are available direct and through selected brokers. 

The society's Self Employed Specialist mortgage is a two-year discount rate currently charging 3.59%.

It is available to 75% LTV up to a maximum value of £350,000. The deal has an unlimited repayment facility, and is available for purchase and remortgage. 

The applicant’s accountant must be suitably qualified and the applicant’s income must be verified to the 12 months accounts in the first instance or via HMRC assessments. 

The applicant must be in the same line of work as that carried out over the previous three years and have a minimum of one year’s accounts. 

The Self Employed Professional is a two-year discount rate, currently charging 3.99% to 90% LTV, up to a maximum value of £500,000. 

This has an unlimited repayment facility, and is available for purchase and remortgage.  

It is aimed at self-employed applicants in a professional occupation such as solicitors, architects, accountants, dentists, doctors, surveyors, pharmacists, vets and optometrists, who are working as part of an established partnership of at least three years. 

​The Society has also launched the Contractors’ mortgage, specifically designed for IT and other professional contractors such as project managers and interim executives.

Chief executive Paul Winter said: “We’re continuing to offer choice to home-buyers of all shapes and sizes, including mortgage misfits who are often overlooked by other banks and building societies. 

“Too many credit-worthy borrowers with unusual circumstances are overlooked by mainstream mortgage lenders and our view is that ‘mortgage misfits’, including the self-employed and contractors, should have the same level of choice and access to the mortgage market as any other group.”