Pepper Money has expanded its Help to Buy range with the introduction of Help to Buy remortgage products to provide refinance opportunities for Help to Buy customers who don’t meet high street criteria.

The products will allow customers to refinance their Help to Buy mortgage from another lender, whilst also enabling them to pay off some or all of their Help to Buy Equity Loan if they choose to do so.

The lender says the range is ideal for customers who do not meet the credit score requirements in the high street for a variety of reasons. This could be due to having a thin credit file or having recent missed credit payments. It could be due to CCJs, or defaults having been registered as recently as 24 months ago. It may even be down to a recent change in job, or a self-employment status of only one year.

Pepper’s “financially inclusive” products supports customers who may have had a financial blip in the past remortgage to Pepper Money and repay part or the total balance of the Help to Buy Equity Loan. Customers who repay their total Equity Loan will be able to choose a mortgage from the lender’s standard Residential Remortgage range.

The Pepper Money Help to Buy Remortgage range is available from Pepper48, which is suitable for customers that haven’t had a CCJ or Default in the last 48 months to Pepper24

Paul Adams (pictured), sales director at Pepper Money, said: “Help to Buy has proven an incredibly popular way for first-time buyers to take the first step onto the housing ladder. However, options can be limited at the end of the initial five-year period when interest becomes payable on the Help to Buy Equity Loan. Particularly for those customers who do not meet the criteria of high street lenders due to their credit profile or the way they earn their income.

“At Pepper Money, we use financial inclusion as the guiding principle for our business. When we spot an opportunity to provide a fair, affordable solution for underserved customers, we do everything we can to make that solution available to brokers. Help to Buy Remortgage is a great example of this in action, with an accessible option for those homeowners who used the Help to Buy scheme to refinance and build towards their financial future. Brokers and their customers can apply with confidence as all our mortgages are supported by our award-winning, responsive and accessible service, which makes life easier.”