Vida Homeloans has launched new residential and buy-to-let product ranges.

It follows the recent launch of Vida’s Buy to Let hub, using the eTech platform, to improve its portfolio underwriting service to brokers.

The lender has reduced rates on its residential range for its interest-only loans over £1 million and Helping Hand (joint borrower sole proprietor) products, excluding its Fee Saver range. It has also enhanced its self-employed contractor criteria, now basing affordability calculations on Day Rate x 46 weeks.

On its buy-to-let range, it has reduced rates for first-time buyers/first-time landlords, loans over £1 million and HMOs and MUBs, again excluding Fee Saver, and removed its previous cap of 100 properties per portfolio.

For self-funding buy-to-let landlords, Vida has reduced income & employment verification.

Vida has also simplified its credit status tier structure to help intermediaries find a product to suit their customers with impaired and improving credit profiles, and HP payments are now treated as unsecured loans.

Louisa Sedgwick (pictured), director of sales, mortgages, Vida Homeloans, said: “This is the most significant product change since we launched three years ago. Vida’s aim is to make specialist mortgages simple and we are always looking for ways to streamline the broker experience and make life easier for our customers to do business with us.

“In the three years since launch we have always listened to feedback and made improvements and now it’s time to simplify the Vida offering for brokers. We continue to see strong demand from our intermediary partners and we want to continue to grow our lending and offer a great service to brokers and customers. These changes are a planned and necessary part of that process.”