Self Certification Fixed Rate Criteria

Criteria Type Description
Maximum Loan to Value 90% (including fees)
Maximum Loan £500,000
Minimum Loan £25,001
Income Multiples 4 x main plus 1 x second allowable income or 3.25 joint where one applicant has a gross income of over £20,000 and both applicants have a clean credit history (see General Lending Criteria), otherwise 3.5 x main plus 1 x second allowable income or 2.75 x joint allowable income if greater
Clients are required to complete a declaration of their ability to pay (sent with the mortgage offer)
Minimum Age 21 (1st time buyers accepted)
Credit History Clients must have a clean credit history over the last 3 years:
  • No mortgage / rent / loan arrears
  • Max 2 consecutive missed payments on credit / store cards
  • Max 1 CCJ to £250n not in the last 12 months
  • Comms / mail order arrears ignored unless scale / frequency is a cause for concern
Packaging Requirements Proof of occupancy - record of last 12 months
Mortgage verification - record of last 12 months
Available for Purchase, including first time buyers
Remortgage, including capital raising (not available for speculative purposes*)
UK Resident For the past 3 years*
Property No ex-social housing, shared equity, vendors deposit schemes, right to buys, studio flats or properties in mixed user buildings. Flats in blocks of more than six storeys are restricted to a maximum of 75% LTV
Minimum Income Sole applicants £10,000
Joint applicants £15,000
Trading/Employment History Employed minimum 6 months
Self employed minimum 12 months
Higher Lending Charge A Higher Lending Charge will be payable on certain Self Cert loans which exceed 75% of the property value. The current charge is 6.0% of the excess loan over 75% of the valuation or purchase price, which ever is the lower (minimum £200). This may be added to advance as long as the total borrowing does not exceed 90% LTV.
Portability All Self Cert products are portable

General Lending Criteria

Criteria Type Description
Employment Status Employed, Self Employed, Fixed Term Contracts, Short Term Contracts, and Probation periods are all considered.
Loan Types Repayment and Interest Only.
Lending Areas England, Scotland $ and Wales
Early Repayment Charge In addition to any product specific early repayment charge there will be a discharge administration fee to cover our reasonable costs.
Clean Credit Historys For the last 3 years:
  • No mortgage / rent / loan arrears
  • Max 2 consecutive missed payments on credit / store cards
  • Max 1 CCJ to £250n not in the last 12 months
  • Comms / mail order arrears ignored unless scale / frequency is a cause for concern
Portability All mortgages are portable when redeeming and simultaneously completing on a new Bristol & West Mortgage. Conditions apply - please ask for details.
Insurance If applicants arrange their own buildings insurance a fee of £25 is payable to Bristol & West Mortgages to cover our additional administration costs. All standard mortgages benefit from 3 months free Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI).
Free Legals for Remortgagers If stated in the Offer of Loan, Bristol & West Mortgages will pay for the legal fees and disbursements (excluding additional work, see paragraph below) and any additional leasehold charges providing the remortgage transaction is handled via Legal Marketing Services, and is completed.
The firm of Solicitors instructed will act for us only. If the customer wishes to have their own legal representation they will be solely responsible for the legal costs and disbursements incurred. Taking out a mortgage has important implications – make sure that before entering into this commitment your customer gets proper advice.
Please Note: Bristol & West Mortgages will not pay for charges relating to additional work outside the scope of a standard remortgage transaction. This includes further valuation reports, related legal services, transfer of equity, deed of postponement, deed of grant, deed of variation, merger of freehold or leasehold title, change of name, telegraphic transfer of surplus funds to borrower, local searches for loans over £750,000, or if an exceptional amount of work is required to correct a defective title. For further details please see our ‘Free Legals for Remortgagers’ information sheet.