How our mortgage lending criteria works

Our lending criteria is a list of rules that we check your mortgage application against. 
It’s how we decide whether we can lend to you.

For example, we have rules about how old you need to be to get a mortgage. 
And about how long you can borrow the money for. 

It’s a good idea to check our mortgage lending criteria before you apply. 
This can help you understand what you’ll need to show to get your application approved.

What's on this page?

 

Who can get a mortgage with YBS?

You need to:
Be at least 18 years old 
Live in the UK
Be a UK or Irish citizen
If you’re an immigrant, you need to have Indefinite Leave to Remain, Settled or Pre-settled status.

 

What documents do I need?

When you apply for a mortgage, we need to check your identity, income and expenses.
Proof of identity - Find out what documents we need on our Verifying your identity page.
Proof of income - The documents we need to see depend on your employment status. 
Proof of your outgoings - You can see examples on our Understanding mortgage affordability page.
If you’re married or in a civil partnership and want to apply in your sole name, we will ask you for extra details.

 

How long can my mortgage term be?

We offer mortgages between 5 and 40 years. Your term must finish by your 80th birthday, unless you have an interest only mortgage.
Interest only mortgages
If you need an income to make the loan affordable, the term must finish by whichever comes first, your retirement age or your 70th birthday.

 

Can I repay my mortgage early?

You can repay some or all of your mortgage early. You may need to pay early repayment charges if you do this.

 

What loan amounts do you offer?

We offer different loan amounts depending on:
The type of property
Where the property is
Loan to value ratio (LTV). This is the size of the mortgage as a percentage of the property’s value.

Minimum and maximum loan amounts

New build properties

 Your Loan to Value Minimum loan amount Maximum loan amount
 Up to 75% £25,001 £5,000,000
 75% - 85% £50,000 * £1,000,000

Existing properties

 Your Loan to Value Minimum loan amount Maximum loan amount
 Up to 75% £25,001 £5,000,000
 75% - 85% £50,000* £2,000,000
 85% - 90% £50,000* £750,000
 90% - 95% £50,000* £600,000



Properties in Northern Ireland

 Your Loan to Value Minimum loan amount Maximum loan amount
 Up to 75% £25,001 £5,000,000
 75% - 85% £50,000* £2,000,000
 85% - 90% £50,000* £750,000

* If you're taking out more than one product, the minimum amount on any one product is £25,001 (subject to the total loan being at least £50,000).

Existing customers borrowing more

If you’re an existing mortgage customer and you want to borrow more, the minimum loan is £3,000.

 

Friends painting

Remortgaging

If you’re remortgaging, at least one applicant must have owned and lived in the property for at least 6 months. The maximum loan to value for remortgages is 95%.

 

Proof of income

We need to see different documents depending on your employment status.

  • If your loan is less than 75% LTV:

    Your last payslip with a corresponding bank statement

  • If your loan is more than 75% LTV:

    Your last 3 payslips plus the bank statement showing the salary credit from your most recent payslip.

  • Latest month's personal bank statement
  • Latest month's business bank statement

In addition to this we will write to your accountant for confirmation of your income. If your accountant is not on our list of recognised accountants or you do not have an accountant, we require your latest 2 years SA302s.

You'll need to be employed in one of the following occupations:

  • NHS Bank nurses and locums
  • Non-NHS Bank nurses
  • Care Home Workers
  • Supermarket Workers
  • HGV Drivers
  • Retained / On-Call Firefighters
  • Armed Forces Reserves
  • Supply Teachers

You'll also need to provide evidence that you've been employed on a zero hour contract for a minimum of 12 months. We'll need to see:

  • Your last 3 payslips
  • A bank statement showing your salary paid in from your most recent payslip.
  • A copy of your current contract
  • A copy of your P60 from the current tax year

Limited Company Directors with more then 25% shareholding (or less than 25% where income is derived from dividends) will need the following:

  • Latest month's personal bank statement
  • Latest month's business bank statement
In addition to this we will write to your accountant for confirmation of your income. If your accountant is not on our list of recognised accountants or you do not have an accountant, we require your latest 2 years SA302s.
Salaried directors with less than 25% shareholding are treated for income purposes as employed applicants and the same evidence of income is required as detailed against employed applicants.

Latest month's personal bank statement. In addition to this we will write to your accountant for confirmation of your income.

Something to bear in mind: We'll always take into consideration the dividends for the last trading year or the average for the last 2 years, whichever is lower.

If the business has been set up for less than 2 years, the finalised years figures and a projection for current year will be required.

 

Getting a conveyancer

You will need a conveyancer to get a mortgage offer from us. You need to choose one from our panel of approved conveyancers.  Find out more on our conveyancing page.
Grandparent cuddling grandchild

 

Person sitting on the floor next to a washing machine

Repaying your mortgage

When you take out a mortgage with us, you agree to pay all the money you owe. If you have trouble paying your mortgage, we will work with you to find a solution. 

If we’re not able to find a solution, we may have to repossess your home as a last resort.
Call us
Chat to our mortgage specialists about your options.
9am to 5pm Monday to Friday
9am to 1pm Saturday
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