Vida has made changes across its residential offerings and criteria to improve affordability and increase flexibility for cases placed across a range of borrower types.
For selected residential deals, rates have gone down by a maximum of 106 basis points (bps). Several criteria enhancements have also been applied that are targeted at those with complex income streams, alongside a simplification of packaging requirements.
For borrowers who are self-employed, the minimum trading history has gone down from two years to 12 months. For those who have been trading for 12-24 months, brokers no longer have to submit an accountant’s reference with a current year projection; Vida will instead accept three months of business bank statements and one month of personal bank statements.
Another enhancement is regarding the acceptable age of latest year accounts, which has been upped from 18 to 21 months and is intended to give brokers submitting cases more flexibility. Additionally, the minimum time remaining on a contract has shrunk from three months to one.
Vida will also now accept up to 100% of commission income – up from 75% – for affordability assessments. It said this would aid brokers when placing cases for contractor, self-employed and commission-based brokers, as well as expanding access to lending.
Alongside the changes to its residential offerings, Vida has also reduced selected buy-to-let (BTL) rates by up to 80bps and reintroduced higher fee options across its BTL range. The firm said this would give brokers more choice when structuring applications and increase the number of available products.
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Ross Williams, head of product at Vida, said: “We know people’s lives and incomes don’t always run in straight lines, and that’s exactly why we’re making these changes. By improving our criteria and passing on rate reductions to borrowers, we’re making it easier for brokers to place cases with confidence.
“We want brokers to feel they can come to us first with self-employed customers, contractors or anyone with a more complex income – knowing we’ll look at the whole picture, find solutions, and give more customers a simple, positive route to a mortgage.”
Earlier this month, the firm made rate reductions of up to 0.72%.