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What You Should Know About Police Mortgages
What is a Police Mortgage?
At this time, there are no specific mortgage products intended exclusively for those serving in the UK police force. There are, however, a range of Mortgage Lenders who are more accommodating to the needs and challenges of police officers and police staff.
Whilst your mortgage options are largely the same as other applicants, police employees may face difficulties in obtaining a mortgage due to complex shift patterns and low starting salaries, for example. The good news is, our mortgage advisers can help you to find those lenders who have a greater willingness to support applicants in police roles and navigate the challenges that come with such employment.
What help is available to police officers?
For those who are unable to satisfy the acceptance criteria of a typical standard residential mortgage product, there are some government home ownership schemes that provide an alternative path to purchasing a home.
Help to Buy
The Help to Buy Scheme gives you access to an equity loan of up to 20% (40% in London) to use towards your deposit. This enables you to provide a 25% deposit, with just 5% savings, making a 75% Loan to Value mortgage easier to achieve.
Right to Buy/Right to Acquire
In some regions, housing association and local authority tenants may be able to purchase their rented home at a significantly reduced price. It’s worth checking if this is an option, if it applies to you.
Shared Ownership
As you might have guessed, this scheme allows you to purchase a 25-75% share of a property. As the mortgage requirement is much lower, it can offer an easier route onto the property ladder for those on lower incomes or with bad credit. Bear in mind that rent is payable on top of the repayments on your mortgage, for the share of the property that you don’t own.
Starter Home scheme
This more recent scheme is only available to applicants between the ages of twenty three and forty. It provides the option to buy new build homes up to the value of £250,000 (£450,00 in London) with at least a 20% discount. To remain eligible, you are not able to rent or resell your home at or above the original market value, for the first five years of ownership.
How much can I borrow as a police officer/police staff?
In any job, affordability and credit score will be the main factors Mortgage Lenders use to decide how much you can borrow. Whilst job titles generally have no impact on the decision, as a police officer, you may benefit from your stable career choice and the strong progression opportunities that come with it, as these qualities are viewed as being less risky.
Particularly those Mortgage Lenders who specialise in offering mortgages to police officers and staff will usually offer the biggest benefits. For example, a typical mortgage applicant can expect to borrow about four times their annual salary. As a police officer, you may be able to access lending at a multiple as high as six times your annual income.
Will a mortgage lender take overtime or second income into account?
Each lender has its own criteria, but most are willing to consider additional income. More stable forms of additional income are more likely to be considered, so if you can show that you’ve had access to consistent overtime for six months or more, this will be more beneficial than a few sporadic overtime payments.
Other regular sources of income, such as benefit or maintenance payments, may also be considered as well as income from second jobs. If your second job is a Self-Employed position, you may need to prove that you’ve maintained it for at least twelve months before it’s considered.
How can OB1 Finance help with Police Mortgages?
Here at OB1 Finance, we can put you in touch with Mortgage Brokers who have helped many police employees to find those police friendly lenders who are most accommodating of your needs. We can help you to find a competitive offer that’s tailored to your lifestyle and benefits you the most in the long term.
We understand that your shifts can mean limited availability and we will always do our utmost to not only be available to suit your timetable, but also to reduce your administrative burden, by taking on much of that part of the mortgage application for you. Of course, we’ll ensure to keep you up to date throughout the entire process, so that your transition into home ownership or moving home is as smooth as possible.
OB1 Financial Group Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Woodley Limited. Woodley Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and registered in England. For more information contact our registered office today!