Co-Ownership

Not available in England.

EPC Rating

To be eligible for the Energy Efficient Home Mortgage the property needs to hold a valid EPC or PEA of A – C. The EPC must have at least least 12 months validity remaining.

A valid EPC An EPC is required when a property is built, sold or rented. It gives a property a rating from A or 100 (most efficient) to G or 0 (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years.

Find an energy certificate page (GOV.UK)

If a property has never had an EPC rating, or it has expired, you need to book a property assessment (GOV.UK) to get a new Energy Performance Certificate.

There may be a cost associated with obtaining an EPC.

New-build homes will have a Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA) before they’re finished. This should be available from the builder or estate agent.

PEAs will be accepted for homes not yet completed.

Flats / Apartments/ Maisonettes

Applications for flats, apartments and maisonettes must have a maximum LTV of 85% . Loan to value is based on the purchase price or valuation (whichever is the lower)

We will only accept applications for properties with an EPC* rating of A-C. The EPC must have at least 12 months validity remaining.

We do not currently accept applications for studio Flats. Property must contain a minimum of one bedroom with a minimum internal habitable floor area of 30 square metres. Maximum of 7 stories.

Help to Buy

We are no longer accepting Help to Buy Purchase applications. We only accept Help to Buy Remortgage applications (see Help to Buy Remortgage section).

Help to Buy Remortgage

We are accepting Remortgage applications from customers who have availed of the Government’s Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme.

If the applicant is approaching the end of their existing mortgage deal or 5 year interest free period then we have a number of options:

Option 1: Remortgage and repay all of the equity loan

If applicants wish to exit the Help to Buy Scheme, they can Remortgage their current property and increase the loan amount to pay off the entire equity loan. We can facilitate these application on our standard Remortgage rates.

Option 2: Remortgage and Repay Part of the equity Loan

For customers who wish to repay some of the equity loan, then they can apply to Remortgage their current property and increase the loan amount to repay some of the equity loan, this is also known as ‘staircasing’. We can facilitate these applications on our Remortgage with Help to Buy Range.

Option 3: Remortgage and keep the equity loan

For customers who are seeking to Remortgage and do not wish to fully or partially repay their equity loan. Applicants can apply to Remortgage their existing mortgage keep the equity loan as it is. We can facilitate these applications on our Remortgage with Help to Buy Range.

Important information:

In order to Remortgage applicants will need consent from Homes England

For more information regarding the Homes England requirements and conditions please visit the following pages:

• How to remortgage your Help to Buy home and borrow more money - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• How to remortgage your Help to Buy home without borrowing more money - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Leasehold

If leasehold, the property should have an unexpired term of more than 85 years at application. Where the remaining leasehold is less than 85 years, please contact us before submitting an application.

New Build

We accept applications for New Build properties. We define a New Build as a property that has been built/converted within the previous 2 years.

Max New Build LTV 90%

Max New Build Flat/Apartment LTV 85%

Building warranties

When a new property is built, the developer will provide a guarantee to ensure the building has been constructed to a standard set by the warranty provider. This is to ensure that any issues related to the property post-completion are covered by an insurance policy.

Acceptable Warranty schemes

Properties less than 10 years old should be covered by one of the following guarantees:

• Advantage HCI
• Ark Insurance Group Limited – Latent Defects Insurance
• Buildzone
• Checkmate
• Global Home Warranties Limited
• International Construction Warranties (ICW)
• LABC Warranty (MD Insurance Services Ltd. Is the scheme administrator for LABC Warranty)
• NHBC certificate
• One Guarantee Limited
• Premier Guarantee, includes the LABC New Homes Warranty & LABC Hallmark Scheme
• Protek
• Zurich Municipal Policy - (note that although no longer providing new scheme warranties, as at December 2015, this provider was supporting existing schemes, some of which include unsold property, so a new warranty may still commence in the current year on first sale). The warranty book has now been sold to Armour Risk Management (March 2018).
• Architect/Surveyor (Professional Consultant) Certificate - acceptable qualifications and indemnity cover are checked by the solicitor in accordance with the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook.

Builder's cash incentives

Any incentive will be disclosed in the UK Finance Inventive Disclosure form which is required for all new builds.

Builder's cash incentives include but are not limited to deposit contribution, cash-back, contribution to legal fees/ stamp duty etc:

These will typically be acceptable on the following basis:

• The maximum amount of any builder's cash incentive is capped at 5% of the lower of the full purchase price or valuation
• A maximum of 5% of the full purchase price (or valuation if lower) can therefore be funded by a builder's cash incentive with the remaining deposit being sourced from the applicant's own funds
• The deposit/cashback does not have to be repaid and the builder does not intend to register a charge against the property

** Please note that builders cash back is not accepted to fund the deposit on Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme applications.

A Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA) is required for new build properties. (A-C)

Property Types

We will only accept applications for properties with an EPC* rating of A-C (at least 12 months validity required).

New-build homes will have a Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA) before they’re finished. This should be available from the builder or estate agent.

PEAs will be accepted for new build properties that are not yet completed.

We do not currently accept applications for studio flats.

We generally accept applications for a property of

• standard construction
• containing a minimum of one bedroom with a minimum internal habitable floor area of 30 square metres
• maximum 7 floors for flats and apartments

The property must be located within our accepted regions: East of England, South West and South East including London, East Midlands and West Midlands. View a full list of acceptable property postal codes below.

* An EPC is required when a property is built, sold or rented. It gives a property a rating from A or 100 (most efficient) to G or 0 (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years.

You may be able to find a property’s rating on the UK Government's Find an energy certificate page (GOV.UK) .

If a property has never had an EPC rating, or it has expired, you need to book a property assessment (GOV.UK) to get a new Energy Performance Certificate.

There may be a cost associated with obtaining an EPC.

Self-Build

Not available in England.

Valuation

A Professional Valuation is mandatory for all purchase and remortgage (switcher) applications. If the customer is an existing Danske Bank mortgage customer switching products, they will not normally require a professional valuation. The bank will appoint a valuer who will undertake the valuation. Please contact us if a client would prefer / requires the following:

• Home Buyers Report
• Full Structural Survey