The Leeds Building Society is improving its service for new build home buyers and their mortgage brokers.
The mutual now will consider extending mortgage offers on all new lending by up to six months.
The lender believes it will particularly benefit buyers of new build homes, where completions can sometimes be delayed due to hold-ups in construction. Similarly, the change could help buyers temporarily stuck in a property chain.
The change has been made in response to borrower and broker feedback.
The society also is launching a dedicated new build helpline so brokers can receive a swifter reply to queries. The helpline is currently undergoing a phased introduction with selected new build brokers before being rolled out more widely.
To request a mortgage offer extension, brokers need to complete a declaration to confirm any material changes in the applicant’s circumstances since the original offer was made.
The society will complete the necessary credit and underwriting checks and a revaluation will be required.
“These latest service improvements demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the new build sector and acknowledge new build purchases can often take longer to complete, particularly when buying a home off-plan,” said Martese Carton, the Leeds Building Society’s head of intermediary distribution.
“We continue to strengthen our new builid proposition for intermediaries, which is now led by our corporate account manager Clive Sandom, who has many years’ experience in this sector.
“Feedback from our borrowers and intermediary partners drives our service improvements and we’ve taken a number of steps in the past year to support new build.
“These include widening the range of warranties we accept, increasing LTV on new homes, introducing criteria to support modern methods of construction, and creating a dedicated new build underwriting team.
“Coinciding with the latest improvements we’re launching two new fixed rate deals specifically for new build with rates fixed for up to two and a half years – at 2.39% up to 85% LTV and 2.59% up to 90% LTV.”