General lending criteria
Employment Status:
Employed, Self Employed, Fixed Term Contracts, Short Term Contracts, and Probation periods are all considered.
Loan Types:
Repayment and Interest Only. These rates are not applicable to Further Loans.
Lending Areas:
England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland (unless otherwise stated).
Property:
Properties built within the last 12 months, or being purchased for the first time since conversion are acceptable up to 75% LTV. We do not accept studio flats. Please note that for Buy to Let mortgages, we do not accept flats or maisonettes built within the last 12 months or being purchased for the first time since conversion.
Property Owner:
We only accept transactions where the seller is the owner or registered proprietor of the property, and has been so for at least 12 months.
For all remortgage business the registered owner or proprietor must have owned the property for a period of at least 12 months.
Early Repayment Charge:
If you repay all or part of your loan before the end of the early repayment period, we may charge you an Early Repayment Charge to cover any losses we might otherwise incur. When you repay the whole of the loan you must pay us any mortgage release fee we charge at the time of repayment. If you have deferred payment of the lending fee you must also pay this.
Clean Credit History:
For last 3 years:
- No mortgage/rent/loan arrears
- Max 2 consecutive missed payments on credit/store cards
- Max 1 CCJ to £250, not in the last 12 months
- Comms/mail order arrears ignored unless scale/frequency is a cause for concern.
Portability:
All mortgages are portable when redeeming and completing on a new Giraffe mortgage. Conditions apply - please ask for details.
Insurance:
If applicants arrange their own buildings insurance a fee of £25 is payable to Giraffe to cover our additional administration costs.
Free Legals for Remortgages:
If stated in the Offer of Loan, Giraffe will pay for the legal fees and disbursements (excluding additional work, see below) and any additional leasehold charges providing the remortgage transaction is handled via LegalMarketing Services, and is completed. The firm of Solicitors is instructed to act for us only. If applicants wish to arrange their own legal representation they will be responsible for the legal costs and disbursements incurred. Please Note: Giraffe will not pay for charges relating to additional work outside the scope of a standard remortgage transaction. This includes further valuation reports,related legal services, transfer of equity, deed of postponement, deed of grant, deed of variation, merger of freehold or leasehold title, change of name, telegraphic transfer of surplus funds to borrower, local searches for loans over £750,000, or if an exceptional amount of work is required to correct a defective title. For further details please see our 'Free Legals for Remortgagers' information sheet.
Arrangement Fees:
Payments should not be made at the application stage, you can choose either to pay the amount of the arrangement fee at the completion stage or alternatively Giraffe will add the arrangement fee to the loan.
Valuation fee scale
| Purchase Price/ Valuation | Mortgage Valuation Report | Homebuyer's Report |
|---|---|---|
| The valuation fee includes an administration fee of £90. Re-inspections minimum charge £50 per visit (this includes an adminstration fee of £8.50). |
||
| Up to £50,000 | £180 | £310 |
| Up to £75,000 | £200 | £350 |
| Up to £100,000 | £220 | £390 |
| Up to £150,000 | £240 | £430 |
| Up to £200,000 | £270 | £470 |
| Up to £250,000 | £310 | £520 |
| Up to £350,000 | £360 | £570 |
| Up to £500,000 | £470 | £770 |
| Up to £750,000 | £610 | £840 |
| Up to £1m | £790 | £930 |
| Up to £1.5m | £890 | £1,090 |
| Up to £2m | £990 | £1,230 |
| Up to £2.5m | £1,090 | £1,440 |
| Up to £3m | £1,190 | £1,590 |