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

Three major cities buck commuter belt trend

The latest research from Property DriveBuy has found that house price growth across Britain’s major cities continues to lag behind their surrounding commuter belts in most cases, although three major cities are now bucking this wider trend by delivering stronger and more consistent rates of growth, whilst London is the only city to see a…
Read More
Breaking News

One feature that can see homebuyers bag a bargain

The latest research from eXp UK reveals that low EPC-rated homes present a potential bargain for homebuyers, as house price savings of up to £54,000 far outweigh the cost of remediation. eXp UK has analysed average house price data for properties currently on the market in England with an EPC rating of E or worse*,…
Read More
Breaking News

Property expert reveals six easily avoidable house-buying errors

Viewing a potential new home is exciting, but many buyers and renters get caught up in the decor and the layout and ignore some potential red flags that may mean they’ll regret their choice a few months down the line. Property expert, Jamie Williams, from Pure Property Finance, discusses five things you need to consider,…
Read More
Letting Agent Talk

Renovating Rental Properties: How to Reduce Costs, Attract the Best Tenants, and Increase Profits Without Unnecessary Investment

Renovation is where many landlords either make or lose their competitive advantage. Spend too little and the property sits empty or attracts unreliable tenants. Spend without strategy and you eat into years of projected profit on upgrades tenants never notice. The sweet spot lies in understanding what drives tenant decision-making and directing every pound toward…
Read More
Breaking News

Are landlord repossessions set to spike ahead of RRA?

Calm before the storm? Landlord repossessions fell in 2025, but they could now spike ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act New analysis from Inventory Base reveals that the number of landlord possessions fell by almost -8% in 2025, but does the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act mean that numbers are set to spike in…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 23/2/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. RO sees large ROI with CRE atford site sale Sale of 56 Clarendon Road Watford by RO Group to Strides Pharma UK RO Group is pleased to announce the successful sale of 56 Clarendon Road, Watford to Strides Pharma UK, the UK arm of global pharmaceutical…
Read More