Leeds Building Society says it will be compliant with the new regulations under the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) for intermediary mortgages on 14 April, ahead of the 26 April deadline.
“We are confident intermediaries will notice minimal changes in terms of submitting mortgage applications under MMR rules,” said Martin Richardson, Leeds Building Society’s General Manager – Business Development.
“We welcome the introduction of MMR and are well-placed to support our intermediary partners – our Regional Development Managers will be available until 8pm each day until 25th April to offer extra support if needed.
“In readiness for the new regulations, we have been reviewing our products and processes but our affordability model already is well-established and has been in place for more than two years so there will be no change in terms of application approval.
“We are making further improvements to our lending criteria from 14th April, including: a single £50,000 minimum property value; a maximum loan size increased to £1.25 million for loans up to 65% LTV; and the number of acceptable accountancy bodies more than doubles from five to 13 to help customers who need to submit accounts.”
All applications which have had a successful Decision in Principle (DIP), but have not been fully submitted before midnight on 12 April will require a new DIP.
The Society’s updated processes offer brokers the ability to outline future changes to income and expenditure at the point of attaining a DIP. As is current practice, details of any significant commitments should continue to be provided.
With the implementation of MMR, the accuracy of information provided to the Society with the application becomes ever more important to ensure that an accurate affordability assessment can be carried out.
From 14 April, where a material change to affordability occurs, the case will be reassessed under MMR rules.
In readiness for the changes which come into force on 26 April, the Society informed intermediaries last month that it would no longer be accepting new non-advised business (apart from buy-to-let) from 1 April.
Also from 1 April, as part of minimum submission requirements the Society now requires details of future changes to income and affordability, the cost of interest only repayment strategies and how fees are paid.
