Virgin Money Mortgage

**northernladuk** · 12 February 2015, 10:05

Am sure this is a really stupid question but have you spoken to Virgin Money and asked them?

**7of9** · 12 February 2015, 10:30

Originally posted by northernladuk View Post

Am sure this is a really stupid question but have you spoken to Virgin Money and asked them?

Its a good question northernladuk! Virgin money said both brokers are not wrong because they have two ways to assess IT contractors. It can go either way, depends on the underwriter who handle the case. So the Virgin money lady could not give me a definite answer, but she sounded like she does not have much knowledge about how contractors work.

So I am hoping someone on the forum can shed some light.

**regron** · 12 February 2015, 10:49

For What it is worth, the broker I used suggested Virgin Money would require option 2, which I wasn't in a position to provide at the time. Went with Halifax in the end, who do work to option 1.

**7of9** · 12 February 2015, 10:53

Originally posted by regron View Post

For What it is worth, the broker I used suggested Virgin Money would require option 2, which I wasn't in a position to provide at the time. Went with Halifax in the end, who do work to option 1.

Thanks Regron. Very helpful.

**TheCyclingProgrammer** · 12 February 2015, 10:59

Virgin Money were a lender I was considering as my broker recommended them and they had the best deal at the time. As somebody has said they can assess income in two different ways. If you meet their requirements for lending based on daily rate then you should have no problem. Generally I think you are expected to be in a reasonably long term contract.

Have you looked at their intermediary site?

http://intermediaries.virginmoney.co...-a-z?range=ce/

**northernladuk** · 12 February 2015, 11:09

Is there a particular reason you have decided on Virgin Money? Do they have a product that you particularly need?

You could try speaking to one of the contractor specialists as they have some really good stuff going on. There are some cracking offset options that beat my high street one hands down.

I've used Freelance Financials in the past and they seem to offer products that are as good and in some cases better than I can go get on the high street, accountancy issues aside. Maybe they can offer something that is as good as whatever you are looking at with Virgin? You could try speaking to Ken or John Yerou. They are really helpful even if you decide not to go with them. Their number is 020 8421 7999.

**7of9** · 12 February 2015, 11:21

Originally posted by northernladuk View Post

Is there a particular reason you have decided on Virgin Money? Do they have a product that you particularly need?

You could try speaking to one of the contractor specialists as they have some really good stuff going on. There are some cracking offset options that beat my high street one hands down.

I've used Freelance Financials in the past and they seem to offer products that are as good and in some cases better than I can go get on the high street, accountancy issues aside. Maybe they can offer something that is as good as whatever you are looking at with Virgin? You could try speaking to Ken or John Yerou. They are really helpful even if you decide not to go with them. Their number is 020 8421 7999.

Thanks Northernladuk. Its Freelance Financials recommended Virgin money at the first place. I took your recommendation and contacted John and Lilla.

Other brokers I contacted recommended Virgin money as well. They have the best 5 year fixed rate at the moment.

**7of9** · 12 February 2015, 11:43

One contractor mortgage broker said they work with specific team from Virgin and this team is trained to deal with contractors. So he said he believes that option 2 won’t happen. ????

So here is the questions to all brokers here. Do you all work with specific teams that dealing with contractors? Or just like any other brokers, you don’t get to pick which team you work with.

[update] Ok, here is what i was told by a different broker. The term dealing with your application depends on the broker's company's address. So if you choose a broker in London, you application is going to the Virgin London underwriter team. There is no specific team just for contractors. Regardless which team you end up with, they all need to follow the same guildliness from Virgin money.

**Freelancer Financials** · 12 February 2015, 15:59

Virgin Money has offered contractor mortgages for several years. Their interest rates at the moment are on top of the best buy tables.

Their policy states that at least two years’ contracting history is the minimum lending criteria. They do use more stringent guidelines when appraising an applicant’s affordability but if you meet their criteria, their 5 year fixed rates are unbeatable.

They only accept contractors who are on a minimum contract of 6-months. There is a list of check-boxes you must tick if you’re on a 6-month contract. Then a similar set of criteria targeting those on 12-month contracts.

Mortgage Criteria for a 12-Month Contract:

1. your current contract must have at least 6 months remaining to run;
2. you need to provide 24 months contracting history
3. provide copies of your previous contracts for the past two years.
4. your CV must prove continuous employment on this basis; i.e., no more than a 2 month gap between
contracts;

Mortgage Criteria for a 6-Month Contract

Same as above apart from point 1, which is detailed below:

1. your current contract must have at least 3 months remaining to run;

Essentially, contractors must, at least have, half of their current contract left to run. There are times that we can also get exceptions to criteria, but we have to run this by our Virgin Business Development Manager.

Lilla and all our mortgage brokers know this criteria inside out and have submitted 100’s of contractors on this basis to Virgin. We have an excellent relationship with our Business Development Manager, who we always run each case through before submitting to underwriters. We’ve been told that your application is absolutely fine for Virgin and do not foresee any problems. We would never risk taking a client to a lender if they didn’t satisfy their lending criteria.

Now on your question of whether we or any other mortgage specialists work with a specific team of underwriters from Virgin that is trained to deal with contractors? The answer is No. Any broker that tells you anything different is lying. There is no dedicated team. However, our Business Development Manager from Virgin understands the “contractor policy” and criteria very well and supports us 100%. We check all cases that we submit with our Virgin BDM. Once we submit the application and it gets assigned to an underwriter our BDM contacts the underwriter to ensure the case is assessed on “contract based underwriting”. That’s how it works.

Yes, Halifax is the easiest option, it’s simpler, quicker and less work for the broker. But it’s about getting you the best deal not making things easy for ourselves.

If you need any further reassurance please feel free to contact me. You have our number.

Virgin Money Mortgage