Kensington raises maximum loan size amid mortgage criteria changes

Kensington Mortgages has announced it will be increasing its maximum loan limit for both first time buyers and buy to let mortgages. Having raised the maximum loan on buy to let mortgages to £1.5 million from £1 million, first time buyer loan values have also now increased to a maximum of £1 million – up from the previous £500,000 limit.

Not only this, Brightstar Financial has become the first distributor to add Kensington to its lending panel, offering all of the lender’s core residential and buy to let ranges, as well as a new 90% loan to value (LTV) residential exclusive product.

Rates on this new product start from 4.89% for a 2 year fixed rate and 5.19% for a 3 year fix.

It seems Kensington is not the only lender reworking its lending criteria and reach this week. Leeds Building Society has also announced it will now be accepting sale of property as a repayment method for some interest only borrowers.

This new method is currently available to those on part interest only, part repayment mortgages at up to 75% loan to value (LTV). This has proved a popular demand of customers looking to remortgage, as it offers the flexibility of paying down the loan in a manageable way for those already on full interest only terms.

Finally, Virgin Money has announced a maximum loan to income multiple of four times for loans over £500,000. However, the lender said this is only expected to impact a very small proportion of its lending, as far as larger loans are concerned, and will continue to offer competitive loan amounts to higher earning customers.

Following other changes that are expected to increase affordability for its clients, this is thought to impact less than 1% of Virgin’s overall lending. The lender will now consider the higher levels of disposable income when assessing affordability for clients with an income above £40,000.

This is a news update from the EnnessPrivate Website. Full report can be viewed here.

Enness Private: We specialise in arranging mortgage loans for individuals from both the UK and overseas, who are either purchasing or refinancing residential or commercial property. Visit the website today for more information: https://www.ennessprivate.co.uk/

 

Enness Private

We arrange large mortgages secured against international property for global individuals.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

What the Autumn Budget 2025 means for downsizers

Now that the dust has settled on what was a hotly anticipated Autumn Budget from the UK government, over-50s property specialist Regency Living has produced a concise guide to the implications for the nation’s downsizers, and concluded that this Budget is going to further increase demand on England’s park home market. The 2025 Autumn Budget was…
Read More
Breaking News

Boxing Day Bounce Set to Kick-Start 2026 Housing Market

Propertymark is forecasting another strong “Boxing Day Bounce” this year, as millions of prospective buyers and renters are expected to jump online on 26 December in search of a new home, triggering one of the busiest property marketing days of the year. Boxing Day has become a pivotal moment for the housing market. With families…
Read More
Christmas Decorations - Good or Bad for Selling
Breaking News

Post-Budget Bounce in Homebuyer Activity

The latest research by eXp UK has revealed that the market could be set for a festive surge in homebuyer activity now that the Autumn Budget dust has settled, with the vast majority of prospective buyers preparing to resume their search and many even willing to conduct viewings during the Christmas period itself. The survey of…
Read More
Breaking News

Nationwide House Price Index for November 2025

The latest Nationwide House Price Index for November 2025 shows: House prices increased by 0.3% between October and November of this year. On an annual basis, the average house price increased by 1.8%, down from a 2.2% annual rate of growth in October. As a result, the average UK house price now sits at £272,998.…
Read More
Breaking News

Annual house price growth slows in November

Annual house price growth softens slightly to 1.8% House prices were up 0.3% month on month   Headlines Nov-25 Oct-25 Monthly Index* 545.9 544.3 Monthly Change* 0.3% 0.2% Annual Change 1.8% 2.4% Average Price (not seasonally adjusted) £272,998 £272,226 * Seasonally adjusted figure (note that monthly % changes are revised when seasonal adjustment factors are…
Read More
Breaking News

Real Estate 2026: Trends to watch, challenges to tackle, opportunities to seize

By Howard Sefton, Managing Director, Real Estate at Ingenious  As we move into 2026, the UK real estate market stands at a pivotal crossroads. Economic uncertainty, political shifts, and changing lifestyles are converging to reshape how people live, work, rent, and invest. With a major Budget announced just weeks before year-end, the sector faces a…
Read More