Reply to: Virgin Money Mortgage

[7of9]

got the mortgage offer

03/03/2015 , got the mortgage offer! I am really happy that I listened to John and appointed FF as my broker! Very speedy service!

[7of9]

1. Submitted my application to Freelancer Financials(FF) on 17/02/2015
2. VM received application 18/02/2015 and arranged valuation
3. FF asked for more bank statements 25/02/2015 (FF only asked 3 months bank statements at the beginning, VM came back to ask for 6 months which I think is standard)
4. 26/02/2015 VM valuation
5. 27/02/2015 FF came back with the result of valuation (valued at offering price)

[morf]

My boss has just gone with Virgin for his latest BTL, seems painless so far for him.

[Freelancer Financials]

Mark, your point about having to have anything other than 6 or 12 month contracts throughout the 2 years history is this true?

Looking at the website I thought your current contract had to be six months. Does not say anything about historical contracts as long as you can prove 2 years contracting?

E.g. 3 months, 3 months, 3 months, 3 months, 6 months and 6 months

Hi Acted,

Like Mark said, They typically prefer contractors on 6 month contract renewals. Of all the contractor friendly lenders out there, they're the most peculiar. Their criteria isn't cast in stone and can be interpreted in different ways from underwriters. Which is why we get cases looked at by the Virgin Business Development Manager before submitting an application. They also look at each case on it's own merits, so they might agree if the LTV was very low for instance. Most Contractor Mortgage Specialists prefer not to deal with Virgin.

They're not the easiest lender to deal with when it comes to contractors but their rates are just unbeatable at the moment.

[7of9]

submitted my applicaiton to Freelancer Financials on 17/02/2015. more update to follow for those are interested in VM.

[Mark McBurney@CMME]

Mark, your point about having to have anything other than 6 or 12 month contracts throughout the 2 years history is this true?

Looking at the website I thought your current contract had to be six months. Does not say anything about historical contracts as long as you can prove 2 years contracting?

E.g. 3 months, 3 months, 3 months, 3 months, 6 months and 6 months

Hi Acted,

That's been our experience with Virgin Money. They made big noise when entering the contractor market, and said that they understood how it all worked, which seemed great, but this was one of the oddest quirks which means that they often don't fit. As I said above, if they do fit, or if your overall case is good enough that there may be some leeway (not particularly often) then they're very good value at the moment.

I even had someone who had a seven month contract previously. That was turned down. Farcical!

[acted]

Mark, your point about having to have anything other than 6 or 12 month contracts throughout the 2 years history is this true?

Looking at the website I thought your current contract had to be six months. Does not say anything about historical contracts as long as you can prove 2 years contracting?

E.g. 3 months, 3 months, 3 months, 3 months, 6 months and 6 months

[Freelancer Financials]

I'd add to what John has said above; Virgin Money are an extremely cost effective lender if you can access them.

Unfortunately their criteria for being assessed on day-rate isn't the most flexible so the reality is very few people that I speak with are, but provided you've not had anything other than either a six or twelve month contract for the past two years' and you've got half of that to run at present, they could be a perfect fit!

Good luck

Hi Mark, no luck required, 7of9 is in the best hands! Have a great weekend.

[7of9]

I'd add to what John has said above; Virgin Money are an extremely cost effective lender if you can access them.

Unfortunately their criteria for being assessed on day-rate isn't the most flexible so the reality is very few people that I speak with are, but provided you've not had anything other than either a six or twelve month contract for the past two years' and you've got half of that to run at present, they could be a perfect fit!

Good luck

Thanks Mark. John is very confident that they will definitely use my daily rate to assess my application, not my two years account. So fingers crossed!

[Mark McBurney@CMME]

I'd add to what John has said above; Virgin Money are an extremely cost effective lender if you can access them.

Unfortunately their criteria for being assessed on day-rate isn't the most flexible so the reality is very few people that I speak with are, but provided you've not had anything other than either a six or twelve month contract for the past two years' and you've got half of that to run at present, they could be a perfect fit!

Good luck

[7of9]

Hi 7of9, Sorry, I thought it was pretty self explanatory. I'm referring to being assessed on your contract rate, Not two years Accounts. Like I said, Virgin need a minimum of two years continuous contracting history. So Yes, I am referring to item 3 on my list.

Thank you very much for the clarification. I have decided to use Freelancer Financials as my broker based on your confidence in my application. I will be in touch shortly.

[Freelancer Financials]

Thanks John, what do you mean by "two years’ contracting history is the minimum lending criteria". I guess its not items 3 on the list. So is it the 2 year company account I was worrying about?

Hi 7of9, Sorry, I thought it was pretty self explanatory. I'm referring to being assessed on your contract rate, Not two years Accounts. Like I said, Virgin need a minimum of two years continuous contracting history. So Yes, I am referring to item 3 on my list.

[7of9]

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;

Thanks John, what do you mean by "two years’ contracting history is the minimum lending criteria". I guess its not items 3 on the list. So is it the 2 year company account I was worrying about?

[Freelancer Financials]

7of9

I can also confirm that Clydesdale, Halifax and a number of other lenders can also accept your application. But Virgin is the most competitive for what you're looking for.

Sometimes when you go multiple brokers, you get different stories, which can be confusing and sometimes misleading. Like I said, it's a mortgage brokers responsibility to find you the most competitive rate on the market based on your circumstances and requirements. Not to take you to a lender purely because their criteria is simpler and their underwriting process easier.

I hope this helps.

[Freelancer Financials]

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.