"An applicant could have missed a credit repayment along the way in an otherwise perfectly suitable application, with sufficient evidence of affordability and willingness to upkeep mortgage repayments."
- Chris Blewitt, head of intermediary distribution
Darlington Building Society has announced the launch of its new Credit Lite mortgage, specifically designed for people with a less-than-perfect credit history.
The new product aims to create a solution for people who have had a credit blip in the past but can evidence their willingness and ability to repay a mortgage.
It is also suitable for those that have been with a true adverse lender and are at end of product period, but still have some small areas of adverse that high street lenders would not be willing to support with a standard remortgage.
The five-year fixed rate is available at 5.89% up to 80% LTV on a maximum loan size of £500,000.
The criteria allows up to two missed consumer credit payments in the last 12 months (none in the last six months), two missed loan payments in the last three years (none in the past 12 months) and one case of mortgage or rent arrears in the past 2-3 years.
It also enables selected satisfied defaults on credit, satisfied CCJs, debt management plans satisfied at least three years ago, and IVA/bankruptcy/previous repossession satisfied over six years ago.
Chris Blewitt, head of intermediary distribution, commented: “We are pleased to announce the launch of Credit Lite – a mortgage available to those with what we are describing as ‘blips’ on their credit file. For example, an applicant could have missed a credit repayment along the way in an otherwise perfectly suitable application, with sufficient evidence of affordability and willingness to upkeep mortgage repayments.
“Darlington’s approach to lending is to make complex cases simple, and this is a prime example of that in action. By carefully assessing each application on a case-by-case basis, we can avoid the ‘computer says no’ approach taken by typical high street lenders and help to make more people’s dreams of home ownership a reality.”
