The Sunday Times - Money Made Easy: Your guide to... mortgage age limit - September 2013

Older borrowers are being shut out of the mortgage market as more lenders last week lowered the maximum age to which they will lend. Leeds building society became the latest to tighten its criteria, withdrawing its “lending into retirement” range that lent up to the age of 80. Borrowers can now be no older than 75 when their mortgage term ends. Two years ago, you could borrow from Leeds up to the age of 85. As the market for longer-term loans narrows, the lenders who do offer such mortgages are being inundated with applications. Aaron Strutt of Trinity Financial, the broker, said this means lenders are rejecting applications and feel they can “pick and choose” who they lend to. Strutt said: “The problems also relate to the actual term the mortgage lenders will offer. We have lots of clients restricted to a limited term of perhaps five years, and this makes the monthly repayments unaffordable.” Click here to view the full story: http://goo.gl/Ag6IQs £ September 23, 2013