The Skipton Building Society has joined the government’s Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme.
The mutual has launched a bespoke suite of exclusive Help to Buy products, offering first time buyers two, three and five year fixed rate products, as well as two and three year discount rate products. All of these new products come fee free, and with £500 cashback on completion.
The key product details are as follows:
Fixed rates:
- 2 Year Fix to 75% LTV, no fee, at 2.89%;
- 3 Year Fix to 75% LTV, no fee, at 3.09%;
- 5 Year Fix to 75% LTV, no fee, at 3.69%.
Discounted variable rates:
- 2 Year Discount to 75% LTV, no fee, at 2.59%;
- 3 Year Discount to 75% LTV, no fee, at 2.69%.
Criteria applicable to all of the above products:
- Free standard valuation and £500 cashback on completion;
- Fixed until 30 April 2016 (two-year fix), 30 April 2017 (three-year fix) and 30 April 2019 (five-year fix);
Early repayment charges:
- Two-year fix: 3/2%
- Three-year fix: 4,3,2%
- Five-year fix: 5,5,5,4,3%
- Two-year discount: 1% over two-years on capital repaid and, after the product end date, interest to the end of the month
- Three-year discount: 1% over three-years on capital repaid and, after the product end date, interest to the end of the month
Overpayments of up to 10% per annum allowed without charge for the length of the fixed rate term.
Kris Brewster, Skipton’s head of products, said: “We already punch well above our weight in terms of keeping Britain moving and enabling a variety of people to get the keys to their dream homes. Our existing range of higher LTV mortgages receives frequent mentions in independent media best buy tables for providing great value products outside of the Help to Buy scheme. However, we’re acutely aware of the struggles first time buyers still face in trying to get that first step on raising a big enough deposit to get on the property ladder.
“With this in mind, we’ve decided to strengthen our already competitive higher LTV range with five additional Help to Buy bespoke products. As a 160-year-old mutual, our founding values were centred on enabling people to own their own homes. These latest product offerings will see us continue to live out these principles and make home ownership an affordable reality for even more of our members.”