Darlington Building Society says it is keen to dispel some myths about the consequences of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR).
The North East building society wants to reassure mortgage applicants that they have nothing to fear from the introduction of MMR.
Colin Fyfe, chief executive of Darlington Building Society, said: “From our perspective we welcome the introduction of MMR. The new rules endorse in many ways the approach to sensible mortgage lending the Society has always taken. Lenders have a clear duty to ensure mortgages are affordable by borrowers so our practices have changed little.
“Unlike with many lenders, mortgage applicants can still walk into our branches and mortgage interviews can usually be arranged if not immediately then within a reasonable period of time. We assess whether the proposed mortgage is affordable in a sensible way and we do not ask embarrassing questions about personal expenditure although we do have a duty to carry out a detailed affordability assessment, as would be expected.
“Mortgage interviews on average are taking between one and a half and two hours to complete which, bearing in mind the importance of the transaction we do not feel to be unreasonable.
“My message to anyone looking for a mortgage at present is not to take too much notice of some of the negative headlines relating to MMR, and call into their local branch of Darlington Building Society for a personal, professional service.”
