BuildLoan offers new larger loan products and increased income multiples for higher income self-builders

02 December 2022

BuildLoan has increased its range of self and custom build mortgages with the launch of two products funded by Furness Building Society. The new deals offer loans up to £1m and up to five times the applicant’s income for those earning above £100,000.

Loans of up to five times household income are available to both employed and self-employed applicants, recognising that a significant proportion of self-builders own their own business.

Furness offers a flexible approach to lending to self-employed clients and will lend to company directors based on their salary and profit before tax, rather than focussing purely on dividends. This takes a positive approach to those who choose to leave some of their profit in their business.

Like all BuildLoan products, funds are released in stages through the build, with stage releases being linked directly to the cost of each stage of work. There are no valuations during the build and each release of funds is pre-agreed during the mortgage application and detailed in the mortgage offer.

This means that self-builders know exactly what money they will receive at each stage, meaning they can proceed with the confidence that they will have the funds at the right time to buy materials or pay builders or developers.

The new range includes the option of advance stage payments - only available through BuildLoan. These products provide up-front funds at each stage of the build and can make self or custom building a much more accessible option for those with fewer funds of their own; or those looking to reduce their carbon impact and running costs by building using a “green” system such as timber frame, which is likely to need a larger up-front payment.

Chris Martin, head of product development and lender relationships at BuildLoan, commented: “We know that many people who want more control in how they earn their living by running their own business also want more control over the home they live in.

“These new products offer the same unique features as the rest of our self and custom build mortgages, along with increased borrowing capacity for higher earning self-employed and employed clients.”

Alasdair McDonald, head of intermediaries at Furness Building Society, said: “We’ve worked with BuildLoan to develop these products along with a flexible affordability approach to recognise that applicants with higher incomes will often have more disposable income.

“We have a lot of experience lending to self-employed clients, which means that even with some uncertainty around interest rates, we can understand where it’s reasonable and responsible to lend that bit more to help the client to achieve their ambition of building their dream home.”