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

Renters’ Rights Act: A review of the first six months

Ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA) coming into force on May 1st, there were many concerns across the industry. Landlords were probably most worried about the removal of section 21 and fixed-term tenancies, fearing it would be harder and take longer to remove troublesome tenants and regain possession of their properties. Widespread predictions were…
Read More →
Breaking News

Private rent and house prices, UK: October 2026

Average UK monthly private rent increased by 3.8%, to £1,406, in the 12 months to September 2026 (provisional estimate); this annual growth rate is unchanged from the 12 months to August 2026. Average rents increased to £1,466 (4.0%) in England, £848 (4.1%) in Wales, and £1,011 (0.7%) in Scotland, in the 12 months to September…
Read More →
Breaking News

First-time buyer affordability improves across the South West

The latest research by Lyons Bowe has found that first-time buyer affordability, measured against the national average price paid by first-time buyers, has improved across the South West over the past decade, despite rising property prices. More than half (53.8%) of the region’s local authority areas now have average first-time buyer property prices below the England…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 20/10/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Rightmove’s £1.45bn forty minute lawsuit Thought leadership by Olivier Jauniaux Founder of NestLink ‘It takes about forty minutes to find a house on Rightmove according to the portal’s own disclosure. You set the filters, you scroll, you save three, you send one to your partner with the…
Read More →
Breaking News

The six shocking ways first-time buyers are being caught out

Unexpected costs hit 70% of first-time buyers, causing rising anxiety for almost a third of people Over 60% of buyers also face mortgage rejection when finding their dream home Solicitor delays and “waiting around” among the highest drivers of anxiety and stress The First Time Buyer Anxiety Index 2026 delves into the main pain points…
Read More →
Breaking News

FTBs reveal real cost of homeownership

Six in 10 first-time buyers say getting onto the property ladder came at the expense of their quality of life From holidays and hobbies to careers and starting a family, first-time buyers reveal the true cost of homeownership New research by Yopa has revealed that 61% of first-time buyers say saving for their first home had…
Read More →