Principality Building Society has brought out a higher loan to income (LTI) for first-time buyers to help more get onto the property ladder.
The heightened LTI of 5.5x income is exclusive to brokers and is available for standard five-year fixed rate residential deals for first-time buyers.
In order to be eligible, applicant should have an individual income of £30,000 individually or £50,000 combined.
The lender added that 100% of income and overtime would be accepted.
The move comes after research from the mutual showed that first-time buyers were using a range of strategies to buy a property, and they each needed different kinds of support.
It noted that there were broadly five different kinds of first-time buyer, which includes a first-time buyer taking their first leap onto the ladder, making the most of their opportunity, establishing roots, looking for change to meet their specific needs and those looking to catch up.
Each first-time buyer type needs a broker to offer different support as they may need a navigator, motivator, problem solver, champion or ally.
Helen Lewis, national intermediary manager at Principality Building Society, said: “Our first-time buyer research shows us that this is a diverse group and can be at different stages in their life, have different levels of family support and differing degrees of financial confidence.
“This enhanced LTI is one of a wide range of solutions we will be showcasing over the next three months that aim to provide a boost for first-time buyers.”
Principality Building Society’s half-year report showed that it had assisted over 3,576 first-time buyers with a mortgage to get onto the property ladder, which is up from 3,304 at the half-year mark last year.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
