General criteria
In this section we cover:
Maximum age
New borrowers - Nationwide mortgages must be repaid on or before the eldest applicant's 75th birthday.
For further information on Lending into Retirement, please see our Income Criteria page.
Existing Nationwide borrowers whose existing current mortgage term extends beyond the eldest applicant's 75th birthday can take out a new mortgage over the term remaining on their current loan, subject to satisfying all other lending criteria - see below.
Existing Nationwide borrowers under the age of 75 whose existing term extends beyond their 75th birthday may apply to port their product over the remainder of their current mortgage term providing:
- They don't increase the term(s) beyond the current remaining term(s)
- Any additional borrowing (which must be on new products) taken must be repaid on or before the eldest applicant's 75th birthday.
- They continue to meet our standard status requirements and comply with our lending criteria.
- They pay any applicable Early Repayment Charges (ERCs) if they reduce the loan.
For further information on Lending into Retirement, please see our Income Criteria page.
Current Nationwide borrowers already aged 75 and over may apply to port their product over the remainder of their current mortgage term providing:
- They don't increase the term(s) beyond the current remaining term(s).
- They don't increase the loan to value (LTV)
- They don't take any additional borrowing
- They pay any applicable ERCs if they reduce the loan.
- They continue to meet our standard status requirements and comply with our lending criteria.
Retired borrowers may be able to borrow up to the age of 75.
As a responsible lender, Nationwide will require details of how applicants intend to continue to meet repayments should the chosen mortgage term take them into retirement.
- The maximum acceptable retirement age is 70
If you need more information, you can contact one of our experienced advisers on Broker Chat.
Acceptable deposit (sources)
| Source of deposit | Proofs required |
|---|---|
| Savings in the UK or EEA See also Help to Buy ISA |
For accounts within the UK, one full month's bank statement is required, showing the full cycle of transactions.
For accounts outside of the UK but within the EEA, one full month’s bank statement is required, showing the full cycle of transactions. |
| Savings outside of UK and EEA |
For accounts outside the UK and EEA, the most recent three months' bank statements are required, showing the full cycle of transactions. Non-EEA foreign nationals without indefinite leave to remain in the UK must provide a deposit of at least 25% from their own resources.
|
Builders cashbacks/deposit
|
Letter from solicitor |
Gifts
Read more about Genuine Bargain Price. |
A completed Gifted Deposit form is required for any gifted amount of £10,000 or more. Where the decision in principle is a refer, a Gifted Deposit form may be required in some instances. For gifts of £10,000 or more that come from outside of the UK, donor bank statements will also be required.
|
| Help to Buy: ISA
Help to Buy: ISA is an acceptable source of deposit. To qualify your client must:
Read more about Help to Buy: ISA |
Help to Buy: ISA closing statement |
Forces Help to Buy (FHTB)
Download our FHTB application keying guide |
Purchases - the Personal Information Note (PIN) will be required to evidence deposit. Remortgages - the applicants payslip will evidence the total monthly FHTB outgoing. |
Inheritance
|
A letter from the executor or solicitor for the estate, confirming the amount that is to be/has been inherited. If the funds have been received, a bank statement showing the monies going into your client's account is required. |
| Equity from sale of property | Sale price of the property |
| Cryptoassets | Deposit from cryptoassets (e.g. Bitcoins), will be considered on a case by case basis. |
Unacceptable source of deposit
- Any loans taken out by your client, except for:
- borrowing from another lender against an additional property owned by the applicant (subject to affordability and criteria)
- the repayment of a Limited Company Directors Loan. The Limited Company accountants must confirm the monies are available and there is no detriment to the company by removal of the funds. This deposit must also be keyed as savings.
- Loan from a UK Trust Fund, provided no monthly repayment is made and the only condition attached to the Trust Fund loan is that it is repayable on sale of the property. Any other form of loan from a Trust Fund is unacceptable.
- Non-UK Trust Funds
- Funding from overseas companies
- Gifts from overseas companies
- Funding from credit cards
- Repayment of a loan to friends or family – we’ll only accept this if it was repaid over 3 months ago (in this case, please key as savings).
- Funds from children under the age of 18, whether a sole or joint account holder, or beneficiary of a trust.
New Build hub
Within the New Build hub, you'll find all the information you need to support you and your clients, including our New Build criteria, a brand new case checklist to help speed up your applications, closed site list, a selection of printable guides and more.
Bank statements
Please see our Providing proofs page for all you need to know about our bank statement requirements.
Armed forces
We accept income from British Armed Forces personnel. We'll accept applications from personnel that are purchasing a property that'll immediately be let, as long as they intend to occupy the property within three years.
Where your client can't provide UK address history, the Ministry of Defence BFPO postcode that corresponds to their barracks can be keyed.
We support the Forces Help to Buy (FHTB) scheme, you can find more information about FHTB on our housing schemes page.
Gurkhas
Gurkhas who have completed four or more years service in the British Armed Forces should be treated as having indefinite leave to remain - proof of length of service will be required. Gurkhas who don’t have indefinite leave to remain should be treated as Non-EEA foreign nationals, but Tier 1 or 2 visa proof isn't required as they're serving in the British Armed Forces.
Foreign Nationals
All applicants must have a three-year UK address history.
EEA Foreign Nationals
EEA foreign nationals are treated as UK nationals and applications can be considered under our standard lending criteria.
Croatian Nationals
Croatian Nationals can be considered, provided they've completed a minimum of 12 months' continuous employment in the UK, or have at least one of the following:
- A purple, blue or yellow registration certificate
- Indefinite leave to remain in the UK
When completing an application, Croatian nationals should be keyed as 'Outside EEA' under 'Nationality', and the question 'Do you have indefinite leave to remain in the UK?' answered as 'Yes'. The Workers Registration Certificate or proof of indefinite leave to remain in the UK should be attached to the 'Proof of Visa/Work permit' requirement.
If the applicant is self-employed they must satisfy our self-employed criteria.
Non-EEA Foreign Nationals
For applications to be considered, indefinite leave must be evidenced by a stamp in a currently valid passport or written confirmation from the Home Office.
Exceptions can be made for non-EEA nationals without indefinite leave to remain in the UK or permanent residency status, if the following criteria are met in addition to our standard lending policy requirements.
Please visit our proofs section to see our proof of name and residency requirements.
| Acceptable Visas | Unacceptable Visas |
|---|---|
These visas are acceptable for sole or joint applications where one or both applicants are from outside the UK/EEA. |
|
The maximum LTV for these applications is 75%. The 75% LTV limitation does not apply if the second applicant is a non-EEA national without indefinite leave to remain and their income is not used on the application.
Additional criteria
- Applicants must be able to fund a minimum 25% deposit from their own resources.
- For joint applications, the deposit from own resources can come from either or both applicants. For example, on a joint application with one applicant being a UK/EEA national, and the other without indefinite leave to remain (but with one of the above acceptable visas), the 25% deposit can come from either applicant.
Gifts and builders cashbacks are not acceptable, unless they are in addition to the 25% deposit.
Repayment Methods
We don’t offer interest only or part and part mortgages for any new or additional borrowing. New and additional borrowing will only be considered on a capital and interest (repayment) basis. In some circumstances, existing customers whose current repayment method is interest only or part and part, can keep the amount they currently have on interest only.
Credit Scoring
All applicants are credit scored before a mortgage is offered usually at Decision in Principle stage. Obtaining a Decision in Principle will record a soft footprint against the applicant's credit record(s); it is when the full application is submitted that a hard footprint is left.
Where you are told the application is unaffordable and you do choose to proceed, the decision will result in a decline and this should only be used if you intend on subsequently appealing the decision.
For your client to be accepted:
- The credit reference must cover all addresses for all parties in the last 3 years. Applicants who cannot provide an acceptable full 3 year UK address history cannot be accepted.
- The applicant must not be an undischarged bankrupt.
- Applicants who have been discharged for at least 3 years can be considered.
- Normally there should be no history of a repossession, either voluntary or enforced
When completing a credit assessment on your client we may obtain information from up to 3 bureaus; Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. We are required to leave a footprint highlighting that we've performed a search connected with mortgage lending when a full application is submitted, this will leave a hard footprint at each agency we use. Multiple credit searches over a short period may adversely affect your client's credit rating and you should explain this to your client before submitting their application.
Any application that is initially made in joint names which results in a decline must not then be scored individually to try for an accept decision, even if either applicant in their own right has sufficient income to support the mortgage. Subsequent applications from either of the individuals may only be accepted if there is no longer any connection between the original applicants.
Unsecured debt
Clients intending to pay off unsecured debt, that has more than six months to run, may be asked to provide proof that the debt has been paid off in full before we can proceed to offer.
Examples of acceptable proofs that may be required include:
- A credit card statement showing that the balance has been cleared
- A document from a loan company confirming the loan has been paid off
Where more than one unsecured debt is being cleared, we’ll need proof of repayment for each individual debt. Screenshots are acceptable.
If the unsecured debt is being repaid with equity from the sale of the client’s main residence, this may be acceptable.
If you need more information, you can contact one of our experienced advisers using Broker Chat.
Acceptable proof of payment history
Applicants must not have exceeded 3 months' arrears in the last 3 years.
Mortgage payment history can be evidenced using:
- The last annual mortgage statement (covering 12 months' payments)
- Where a mortgage statement covers less than 6 months payments and is over 6 months old, the last 3 months bank statements are required
- Where the above is unavailable an existing lender's reference is required
Tenancy payment history
We do not require you to verify past payment history for any applicant who is currently renting or has been renting over the last twelve months.
How long are offers valid for?
- Remortgage offers are valid for 180 days.
- House purchase offers are valid for 180 days.
- New Build offers will now be automatically extended by a further 45 days when the offer reaches 5 months. This is subject to valuation confirmation and will be communicated to you and the solicitor if successful.
- Rate Switch offers are valid for 45 days.
Existing Nationwide borrowers
If your client is an existing Nationwide borrower, check our existing Nationwide borrowers page, which includes information on additional borrowing.
To find out how to complete a rate switch application or to read about how to submit a porting case, you can check our dedicated page which includes key criteria and useful information.
Large Loans
Our dedicated large loan team can answer any pre-application large loan enquiries not covered by published policy (£500,000 to £2 million). Call 0800 464 3001 from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (except bank holidays).
Enquiries
- You'll have direct access to specially trained underwriters to discuss your case.
- Expertise in dealing with complex or unusual cases
Applications
Applications are submitted via NFI Online.
Loan to value
| LTV up to | Max loan |
|---|---|
| 85% | £750,000 |
| 80% | £1,000,000 |
| 75% | £2,000,000* |
*Available on products with a £0 product fee only. All other standard products have a maximum loan amount of £1 million.
For updates on large loans cases which have been submitted, please call 0800 30 20 11.
FAQs
If you have a question, we may have already answered it in our frequently asked questions
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