Affordability Calculator
Our affordability calculator can be accessed once you have registered and logged in to our online application portal.
This page summarises Melton’s minimum high level lending criteria required as part of our mortgage underwriting process. In addition, we apply a number of other credit assessment tools which may result in an application being declined, despite appearing to meet our criteria.
Melton reserves the right to change its lending policy at any time, however, we aim to ensure this page reflects the Society’s current approach to mortgage lending. All underwriting is carried out manually.
Credit Repair
Note: If DPM/IVA is to continue after completion, we will request a reference from the provider
Self-Build
Eco Self build
Buy to Let
Holiday BTL
Shared Ownership
Right to Buy
Foreign Nationals
Employed
PAYE
Note: Where an applicant is employed by a family business – we will request an accountant’s reference to independently verify and confirm income for each relevant applicant
Self-Employed
Sole trader
Limited Company or Partnership
Shareholding/equity over 33.3%
Shareholding/equity less than 33.3%
Sub-contractor (Self-Employed)
Construction Industry Scheme
Note: We may also request a reference from the main contractor
Umbrella Company
Pension
State Pension
Private Pension
Self-Invested Private Pensions (SIPPs)
Rental Income
Maintenance
Court Ordered
Non-Court Ordered
Stipend
Overtime and Bonuses
Commission
Maternity Leave
We will request a reference from the employer confirming intention to return to work including return date and expected salary
Foster Care Allowance
Disability Allowance
Working Family/Child Tax Credits
Deposit from Savings
Gifted Deposit
Funds to repay Help to Buy equity loan
Home Improvements
Purchase of Additional Property
Downsizing
Endowment
Cash lump sum from pension
ISA (cash or stocks and shares)
Sale of other property
Other Assets
The Society will consider residential applications where there is evidence of adverse Credit including Secured Arrears, Defaults, CCJs, IVAs, Bankruptcy, Debt Management Plans, Debt Relief Orders and Repossession.
We offer a dedicated range of Credit Repair Products. Please visit our Credit Repair Hub for full details of our Credit Repair product range and criteria.
The criteria below is applicable to our prime standard product range:
The Society will consider residential applications where there is historic adverse Credit/CCJ/IVA/Bankruptcy/Debt Management Plan/Debt Relief Order where these were settled more than four years ago and repossession where settled more than 6 years ago*.
In addition, the following criteria regarding an applicant’s credit history will be considered:
Existing Homeowners Excluding Self Build applications – no missed mortgage payments in the last 2 years | Existing Homeowners Excluding Self Build applications – have missed a mortgage payment in the last 2 years | First Time Buyers/Self Build | |
---|---|---|---|
Unsatisfied CCJs | Not acceptable | Not acceptable | Not acceptable |
Satisfied CCJs | Total must not exceed £1,000 and they must have been satisfied for more than 3 years | Total must not exceed £500 and they must have been satisfied for more than 3 years | Total must not exceed £500 and they must have been satisfied for more than 3 years |
Unsatisfied Defaults | Not acceptable | Not acceptable | Not acceptable |
Satisfied Defaults | Total must not exceed £1,000 and they must have been satisfied for more than 3 years | Not acceptable except defaults with communications suppliers which have been satisfied may be disregarded at the discretion of the mandator | Not acceptable except defaults with communications suppliers which have been satisfied may be disregarded at the discretion of the mandator |
Missed payments on unsecured commitments, credit card, mail order, communications supplier or similar | Max worst status of 1 on current active CAIS in the last 6 months and a max status 2 in the last 2 years | Max worst status of 1 on current active CAIS in the last 6 months and a max status 2 in the last 2 years | Max worst status of 1 on current active CAIS in the last 6 months and a max status 2 in the last 2 years |
Secured Arrears (mortgage and loans) | No other credit issues, must be status 0 on current active CAIS for the most recent 6 months, max of 3 status 1 in last 2 years, max worst status 2 in last 2 years | No other credit issues, must be status 0 on current active CAIS for the most recent 6 months, max of 3 status 1 in last 2 years, max worst status 2 in last 2 years | No other credit issues, must be status 0 on current active CAIS for the most recent 6 months, max of 3 status 1 in last 2 years, max worst status 2 in last 2 years |
Where there has been a deliquency, as defined by Experian at any point in the last 3 years, this will not be considered by the Society
* Buy to let applications will not be considered if there is any form of impaired credit as per the regulatory definition as detailed below
Under regulatory rules borrowers with an impaired credit history are those who meet any one of the following conditions:
Minimum earned income of £25,000 between both applicants
Income evidence in accordance with our standard proof of income requirements
Standard Buy to let – this is where the transaction does not merit either of the criteria above and is purely a business transaction to generate income and yield
Regulated Buy to let – this is when you or a member of your family will at some stage be a tenant
Consumer Buy to Let – this is when you have lived in the property as your main residence or you inherit a property that was a main residence and then due to a change in circumstances you choose to let the property and you receive no other rental income. Intermediaries must hold appropriate FCA permissions
Standard, Family & Consumer Buy to Let
Gross rental Income must cover the mortgage payment (calculated at the Society’s BTL Stressed Rate on an interest only basis) by a minimum of 125% for basic rate taxpayers and 145% for higher rate taxpayers, calculated after taking into account any other borrowings secured against the BTL subject property
Evidence of actual or anticipated rental income is obtained by reference to a mortgage valuation report. Rental income declared will be compared to the estimated rental figure provided on the valuation report and the lower of the two will be used to assess the ICR.
Holiday Let
Gross rental income must cover the mortgage payment (calculated at the Society’s BTL stressed rate on an interest only basis) by a minimum of 125% for basic rate taxpayers and 145% for higher rate taxpayers. For the purpose of HBTL, gross rental income shall be;
The property must be free of any planning restrictions that limits use to holiday home use only
Details of any company managing and/or marketing the property will be required
The requirement for an assured shorthold tenancy agreement is not applicable
A maximum portfolio of 3 properties in total in mortgage to the Society or other lenders will be allowable to an individual or connected counterparty. Full details must be obtained from the applicant and details verified, as far as possible, to the loans reported on the credit search
The maximum that may be lent to any individual or connected counterparties is £500,000 in aggregate
A minimum EPC rating of ‘D’ is required on all BTL applications with the exception of Holiday Lets
Leasehold properties will be considered up to a maximum loan to value of 60%. A minimum of 70 years must be remaining on the lease at the end of the mortgage term
Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreements with a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 12 months are required, with the exception of Holiday Lets
Mortgage:
Tenancy:
Regular commitments in respect of loans, credit cards, hire purchase agreements, mail order, maintenance etc. will be deducted from income as follows:
Acceptable Sources of Deposit
Unacceptable Sources of Deposit
Verification:
Rental Income:
Rental income must be verified by a letter or reference from an ARLA registered agent, or by reference to a tenancy agreement plus proof of 6 months’ rental income evidenced on bank statements
Applicants must have been trading for a minimum period of 2 years (3 years for credit repair applications).
12 months’ trading history can be considered for applicants who meet our Professional or Same line of work criteria as detailed below and subject to product availability.
For self-employed applicants and company directors owning 33¹/³ % or more of the company, the following are required:-
Profits:
The income of company directors will be based on the lower of either:
Where the applicants own 100% of the shares in a company then the residual net profit may also be taken into account
Verification:
Professionals:
(Solicitors/Architects/Accountants/Dentists/Doctors/Surveyors/Pharmacists/Vets) a minimum of one years accounts are required as long as they have been working as part of an established partnership of at least two years standing. The maximum LTV will be restricted to 90%
Same line of work:
Where applicants have become self-employed but do not meet the requirement for 2 years’ trading history, we can consider 1 years’ accounts subject to the following criteria:
Sub-Contractors:
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Workers:
For the purpose of this policy a first-time buyer is defined as a person who:
Where the mortgage is to be in joint names the FTB definition need only apply to one of the applicants
Applications with more than 2 applicants
Basic Salary | 100% |
Shift Premium | 100% |
Stipend Income | 100% |
Private Pensions | 100% (4% of SIPP pot value) |
State Pension | 100% |
Invalidity and disability benefit | 100% |
Regular overtime/bonus/commission | 50% |
Zero Hours Contracts | 50% where another applicant has a primary income source usable at 100% |
Second job | 100% if combined hours do not exceed 40 per week 50% if combined hours exceed 40 per week |
Area Weighting allowance | 100% |
Car Allowance | 100% |
Rental income (unencumbered properties) | 100% |
Rental income (encumbered properties) | 100% of any surplus rent above 145% of the mortgage commitment |
Maintenance payments | 100% under court order 50% with no court order |
Income Protection Insurance | 100% |
Working Family/Child Tax Credits | 50% where supported by main income |
Child Benefit | 50% where supported by main income up to £60k |
Investment Income | 50%* |
Foster Care Income | 100%**
50%** (for Credit Repair Applications) |
*average of the last two years provable income will be used to calculate the figure to apply the 50% to
** subject to satisfactory evidence/accounts and proof that there has been foster caring arrangements for at least 12 months
Unacceptable income includes:
*Where funds are being used to purchase another property, we will release the funds to the solicitor and evidence of the purchase will be required before release of funds.
** Where a loan is advanced that consolidates other debts, payment will be made directly to the borrower’s creditors to ensure that commitments are repaid.
Where the debt consolidation is greater than 50% of the mortgage, this will need to be referred to us for consideration.
Repayment strategy:
Must be held in the UK in £ Sterling. Repayment strategies held outside the UK or not in £ Sterling are not acceptable
Downsizing
Endowment policy
Commutable sum from pension
ISA
Realisation of other assets/Investment properties
For Buy to let applications, the repayment strategy could be sale of the property
Acceptable security types:
Loans on properties which have been subject to sale or remortgage in the preceding six months will not normally be accepted with the following exceptions:
Any properties of non-standard construction or defective construction as defined under Housing Act 1985 listed below will not be considered:
Where appropriate for properties of non-standard construction not covered by the list above a referral will be made to the Group’s Valuer Panel manager for further advice relating to the construction type
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The Society will lend on freehold houses and bungalows, but not on flats
Society Standard
The Society will consider loans to individuals requiring funds to purchase land with full planning permission and building regulations approval for a residential property and for the construction of a residential property with monies being released in stage payments in arrears
Full details including plans, cost estimates, schedule of works and timescales must be obtained
Society Standard
The maximum term for a mortgage is 40 years. The maximum loan to value ratio will be as specified in product literature
If the applicant intends to remain in their current house for more than 12 months from the inception of the mortgage, the monthly mortgage or rent payment will need to be input into our affordability calculator and treated as a commitment
The following modern methods of construction property types and cladding systems will be considered for self build lending, subject to satisfactory insurance and new build warranty, along with a full assessment of the demand and future salability:
• Huf Haus
• SIPs (structural insulated panels) where the outer skin is masonary, brick, polymer/cement renders or a combination of these
• Timber frame where the cladding is masonary, brick, polymer/cement renders or a combination of these
• Light guage metal framing where the cladding is masonary, brick, polymer/cement renders or a combination of these
• CLT panel (cross laminated timber) where the cladding is masonary, brick, polymer/cement renders or a combination of these
Our ECO Self Build product is available for Self Builds, renovations and conversions where an EPC Rating of A or B is expected to be achieved and where at least one ‘renewable energy’ feature has been designed into the build.
ECO Self Build renewable energy features may include:
1. Electricity Generation – Hydroelectricity, Solar PV panels, wind technologies
2. Heat Generation – ground source heating, air source heating, solar water heating, wood fuelled heating (Biomass)
3. Electricity and Heat – Micro-CHP (micro combined heat and power)
Renovations and Conversions – improved insulation and heat retention (loft/cavity wall insulation and thermo efficient glazing and doors/enclosures)
Parents can provide the deposit, which is then repaid to them as a final stage payment on completion of the build, subject to the final end value being 75% or lower
Available as part of our Society Standard proposition only
Affordability will be based on full borrowing, including the last stage release
Maximum 75% of land and build costs
Deposit donor letter required on application confirming that the funds are only repayable on completion of the build, subject to the final end value being 75% or lower
Refer to product guide for details of minimum and maximum loan amounts
Applicants may opt to be charged interest only during the build and switch to repayment or part and part post build
Site insurance must be in place at the time of completion and must cover as a minimum:
Title insurance will be arranged to protect against defective title and/or planning consents and permissions
Society Standard
We will lend up to 75% of the land value and build costs with funds being released in arrears of each stage of the build, subject to a maximum of 75% LTV at each inspection
An appropriate interim certificate from an architect, architectural technologist, structural engineer or RICS surveyor (minimum PI cover of £1m is normally required) will be required at each stage. The valuer appointed by the Society will be required to carry out reinspection’s at the following stages of construction (as a minimum):
The Group operates a panel of solicitors and licensed conveyancers, which is managed by LMS. New firms may be added to the panel subject to each firm satisfactorily meeting our requirements; having two or more partners (i.e. sole practitioners are not acceptable), minimum PI insurance of at least £2 million, carry out a minimum of 120 conveyancing cases per annum and be CQS/CLC listed
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Guidelines designed to give general guidance to mortgage brokers on the Melton’s lending criteria.
Our affordability calculator can be accessed once you have registered and logged in to our online application portal.