Nationwide Building Society has announced a reduction in the minimum income requirement for its Helping Hand mortgage scheme.
From today, Nationwide are lowering the income requirement to £35,000 for single first-time buyer applicants on the Helping Hand Scheme. The threshold for joint applicants remains unchanged at £55,000.
What is the Helping Hands mortgage scheme?
The Helping Hand initiative allows eligible first-time buyers to borrow up to six times their income on five or ten-year fixed-rate mortgages, with a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of up to 95%. This represents a 33% increase compared to Nationwide’s standard lending limit of 4.5 times income.
In addition to enhanced borrowing capacity, first-time buyers completing their mortgage with Nationwide receive £500 cashback. An additional cashback of up to £500 is available for those purchasing energy-efficient properties through the Green Reward scheme.
Regulatory constraints limit high loan-to-income (LTI) lending to no more than 15% of a lender’s total qualifying loans. To comply with these regulations, Nationwide has periodically adjusted its minimum income requirements for the Helping Hand mortgage. The recent reduction aims to assist more first-time buyers while adhering to these limits.
What does this mean for first-time buyers?
Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s Director of Home, stated:
“We continue to do all we can to put first-time buyers first and aim to set our Helping Hand minimum income requirements at levels that give it the widest appeal.”
He also emphasized the society’s call for a review of the 15% regulatory limit to further support prospective homeowners.
This move reflects Nationwide’s ongoing commitment to facilitating homeownership for first-time buyers by offering more accessible mortgage options.
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