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Find answers to the most commonly asked mortgage questions.
Yes. To calculate the amount we can lend you, we will need at least two years' accounts or tax calculations using an average of the two years as our income figure.
Leek Building Society holds the deeds to the property until the mortgage is fully repaid. Physical Deeds will be sent directly to you via your solicitor as they are now held electronically.
Yes, as long as you use the second home as a holiday home, a weekday base while working away from home, or to house a dependent relative. You will need a minimum 25% deposit for a second home mortgage with Leek Building Society.
This is the amount of mortgage you owe against the value of your property.
For example, if your property is worth £100,000 and your mortgage loan amount is £75,000, this would represent a Loan to Value of 75%.
Lower Loan to Value mortgages tend to offer more competitive deals.
APRC stands for 'annual percentage rate of charge'. Your APRC shows you, as a percentage, the annual cost of your mortgage - including fees, interest and other costs - assuming you keep your mortgage for the full term and do not change it.
Interest is calculated on a daily basis and is calculated in advance each month on the balance outstanding at the end of the previous month. The balance outstanding will include any arrears and charges debited to the mortgage account. When a repayment is received, an interest credit is applied to the account, calculated from the date the payment is received to the end of that month.
A mortgage where the rate of interest is fixed for a specified period, such as two, three or five years.
A discount mortgage is a variable rate mortgage that is linked to the lenders Standard Variable Rate (SVR). Each lender sets its own SVR. When the SVR changes, the rate on your discount mortgage changes proportionately.
A mortgage where the rate of interest can vary. It is usually based on the lenders' Standard Variable Rate (SVR) and changes when the lender reviews its SVR.
On an interest only mortgage, you only pay the interest due against the loan. This makes your monthly repayments smaller than a capital and interest repayment mortgage. But at the end of your mortgage, all the capital balance will still be outstanding. You will need a clear savings and repayment strategy to ensure you have the funds ready to repay the capital.
The interest rate is guaranteed in a fixed rate mortgage for a defined period. The interest rate can change in variable rate mortgages.
Yes, we offer mortgages that need just a 5% deposit. These are designed to help First Time Buyers get on the property ladder.
A mortgage is a long-term (typically 25-40 years) loan taken out with a bank or building society to purchase a house or other property. If you do not make the required monthly repayments, the lender can take you to court to obtain an order to repossess the property. They can do this because you agree to give the property as security for the loan when you sign the mortgage agreement.
A secured loan is usually taken out with a different lender to raise funds for things like home improvements or a business loan. They are sometimes called 'second charges' because, if you default on the repayments, the lender could take you to court to repossess the property. But the lender with the 'first charge' (e.g. the mortgage loan), would be repaid first. That's why secured loans tend to be more expensive than mortgages.
Leek Building Society does not offer self-build mortgages.
You do not need a job to get a Leek Building Society mortgage. However, you do need to be able to show that you can afford any repayments. You will have to show us where your income - earned, pension or investment - comes from.
No. Our mortgages are only issued to borrowers with a minimum deposit of 5% of the purchase price.
We lend a maximum of 4.49 times joint gross income.
You will need at least 5% of the purchase price or value of your property (whichever is lower).
Yes. Generally speaking, mortgage rates are more competitive the lower Loan to Value you need.
No, benefits do not count in your income calculations. We only consider income paid in sterling from:
If we cannot verify you electronically, we may require two different types of ID:
Depending on your circumstances, we may also ask for other documents.
To be eligible for a Leek Building Society mortgage, you must be able to demonstrate that you can afford the monthly mortgage repayments. To do this, you must receive either sustainable earned or pension income. We do not accept temporary contracts as proof of income. If, however, you are on a fixed-term contract of at least 12 months with at least 6 months remaining, or have evidence of a new/renewed 12-month contract in the same line of work, we will accept this as proof of income.
Leek Building Society does not currently offer guarantor mortgages.
Yes. To buy at auction, you would already need a Binding Mortgage Offer from us. First, you'd have an initial mortgage interview with one of our Qualified Mortgage Advisers. Once you complete your mortgage application, we have the property valued and complete the full underwriting on your application. A solicitor would also need to be involved because, if you are successful at the auction, you will normally need to pay a 10% deposit and exchange contracts immediately.
Rather than using a credit scoring system, we look for conduct of credit. If your mortgage application is for a 90% - 95% Loan to Value sum, we need to see one (single applications) or two (joint applications) active line(s) of credit with satisfactory conduct.
For Loan to Value applications of 90% or less, we do not have to see any lines of credit. However, if they exist, they must have been conducted satisfactorily.
When you apply for a mortgage, we make various checks to see if you pass our affordability assessment and meet our other lending criteria. These include credit searches, identity checks, income and employment checks and property valuations.
When these checks are complete, an independent underwriter will review your application in full and decide whether to approve the mortgage. If your application is approved, you will receive a binding mortgage offer that is valid for 6 months. This gives you enough time to take up the offer and complete your mortgage.
If you pass our lending criteria and affordability assessment, we give you a Mortgage Decision in Principle. This document enables you to negotiate the purchase of a property with a vendor or estate agent. However, it does not guarantee that your mortgage application will be accepted. Instead, it gives a good indicator that your application is likely to be accepted.
We aim to process your mortgage application as quickly as possible. The time taken will vary depending on the type of application and whether all supporting information is included with the application.
The first step is an initial interview with one of our Qualified Mortgage Advisers. They will check your eligibility for a Leek Building Society mortgage.
If you are eligible, our advisers will ask you a series of questions designed to help establish which mortgage best suits your needs and circumstances and recommend the most suitable mortgage for you.
When you are ready to apply for your mortgage, you complete a mortgage application form. When we receive your form, we will carry out credit checks and status enquiries to verify your income, expenditure and property valuation.
If these checks are completed satisfactorily, we will issue you a Binding Mortgage Offer. This is valid for 6 months.
Your solicitor will also receive a copy of the offer, enabling them to progress the necessary legal work surrounding your application.
Yes. As long as your retirement income/pension passes our affordability assessment, you can get a mortgage into retirement with Leek Building Society. The maximum Loan to Value available is 80% and a minimum income of £20,000 is required.
Yes. As long as your retirement income/pension passes our affordability assessment, you can get a mortgage if you have already retired with Leek Building Society. The maximum Loan to Value available is 70% and a minimum income of £20,000 is required.
Our mortgages do not include funds for renovations. You should include the cost of any necessary renovations when calculating the deposit you can offer. Your deposit will need to be at least 5% of the property purchase price. In some instances it may be a requirement of the mortgage offer that the Society retains monies until specific works are completed to the satisfaction of the valuer.
In certain circumstances, yes, your mortgage offer can be withdrawn. Check your Binding Mortgage Offer document for more details.
Any formal mortgage offers are binding on the lender. They can only be withdrawn in certain circumstances. Check your Binding Mortgage Offer document for more details.
In certain circumstances, yes, a mortgage can be declined after valuation. The most common reason for this happening is if the property is not deemed to be suitable. It can also happen when answers to status enquiries are received after the valuation has been completed.
We lend a maximum of 4.49 times joint gross income. We then put the figures through our affordability assessment. This calculates how you would cope with potential interest rate rises given your income, expenditure and the size of your household.
Your mortgage offer is valid for 6 months. In rare circumstances, it may be extended upon request. Each extension request will be independently reviewed.
No, we do not lend money to cover stamp duty. Our maximum Loan to Value (LTV) on any mortgage is 95% (up to a maximum loan of £400,000 on 95% LTV). Your deposit and all associated buying fees (stamp duty, removals firm, legal firm, etc) must come from your own funds.
Subject to Loan to Value limits and our affordability assessment, yes, mortgage product fees can be added to your mortgage.
It depends on your mortgage deal. If your mortgage is on a variable rate, then yes, your payments could change. If you are on a fixed rate, your interest rate (and payments) will change when your fixed rate period ends. We will write to you around 120 days before this happens.
Your first full monthly repayment will become due the month after you complete your property purchase. You can choose for it to be paid by Direct Debit on the 1st, 15th or 27th of the month.
However, interest is charged from the date your mortgage funds are released to your solicitor. So during the month of completion, you will also need to make an initial interest payment. This covers the interest charged from the completion date to the end of the completion month.
If the interest rate on your mortgage is about to increase, we will write to you at least 7 days before the change to confirm your new monthly repayment.
If the interest rate on your mortgage is about to decrease, we will write to you at least 7 days before the change to confirm your new monthly repayment.
Our minimum mortgage term is 5 years. Our maximum mortgage term is 40 years. However, your age, planned retirement age and income - both now and in retirement - could impact the maximum mortgage term available to you.
If you're struggling to make your monthly repayments, please contact us immediately. We have a range of options that might resolve the situation. Ultimately though, your home may be repossessed if you do not maintain repayments on your mortgage.
On some mortgage products, the lender makes a loss if it does not run its full term (e.g. if you take out a five-year mortgage, but repay it in full by year three).
The Early Repayment Charge compensates the lender for the loss of interest they would have otherwise received. Early Repayment Charges tend to reduce each year of the mortgage.
Yes. Regularly overpaying on your mortgage could save you significant interest charges, because when you pay off more than is due, the surplus is deducted from the outstanding capital. So your interest payments get smaller.
If you overpay regularly, you could repay your mortgage in full much earlier than originally expected. Some mortgage products restrict the amount you can overpay by, for example, up to a maximum of 10% of your original loan amount.
There are two types of mortgages:
For Capital and Interest repayment mortgages, each month you pay off any interest due and a portion of the capital. Each month, the interest payments reduce slightly as the outstanding capital gets smaller. If you continue to make all payments in full and on time, your mortgage is repaid at the end of your mortgage term.
For Interest Only mortgages, you only pay the interest due against the loan. This makes your monthly repayments smaller than a capital and interest repayment mortgage. But at the end of your mortgage, all the capital balance will still be outstanding. You will need a clear savings and repayment strategy to ensure you have the funds ready to repay the capital.
Mortgages can be transferred using a Transfer of Equity, but it is not an automatic process. The person taking over the mortgage must make a new mortgage application and meet our lending criteria. One of our Qualified Mortgage Advisers can guide you through the process.
If you decide to move home, it's usually possible to 'port' your mortgage to another property - as long as you still meet our lending criteria. Check your mortgage terms to find out if your deal is portable.
In most cases, it is possible to pay your mortgage early. This could save you money in the long term, but you may incur an Early Repayment Charge. Check your Binding Mortgage Offer document for details of any charges you may face.
Once the mortgage is fully repaid, we will remove our charge over your property at HM Land Registry. Any title deeds and documents will be returned to you for safe keeping.
As soon as we receive a copy of the death certificate, we'll update our records. If the mortgage is in the sole name of the deceased, we'll contact their executors. If the mortgage is in joint or multiple names, the deceased person will simply be removed from the mortgage account. Monthly mortgage payments will continue to fall due unless otherwise agreed.
Buy to Let is when you are buying a property with the specific intention of letting it out. The property in question would be classified as an investment property. To secure a Buy to Let mortgage with Leek Building Society, you will need:
This depends on your personal tax situation. Please seek professional advice.
Leek Building Society received the award of Best Building Society 2023 at the British Bank Awards, sponsored by Smart Money People, on 11 May 2023.
Leek Building Society is a trading name of Leek United Building Society, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority with firm reference number 100014. Our details can be found on the Financial Services Register at https://register.fca.org.uk/s/. Leek United Building Society’s address for service is 50 St. Edward Street, Leek, Staffordshire ST13 5DL.
