Large Mortgage Loans

Are there lenders that offer more flexible criteria for high earners?

Yes – you get that higher income multiple, which is one of the biggest impacts. With an income over £100,000, you might be looking at a multiple of 5.5 to 6.

Other lenders may look at it from a professional aspect. You might be a partner in a law firm, for example, and part of an LLP. Here, you’re technically considered self-employed and you get tax calculations submitted for you by the business.

But it would be crazy for a mortgage provider to assess the whole law firm with thousands of partners. So you would be treated as employed rather than self-employed – which is helpful, as lenders may reduce affordability for the self-employed.

How can I get a large mortgage? Are they more difficult to get?

You would apply in just the same way as for a smaller mortgage. You can go through an adviser or directly with a bank.

In some ways, it can be more difficult, as there’s often a more manual approach to it.

You may need a specialist team, even with some of the larger lenders. That’s not a bad thing – it just means you need to know how to present yourself in the simplest, most favourable way to tick all the boxes.

That’s where a mortgage adviser comes in. We know how to do that and which lenders to go to in those circumstances.

Can you get a large mortgage if you are self-employed or a limited company director?

Absolutely. In fact, quite regularly with these larger loans people have more complex income.

They will often be self-employed or a business director.

How that’s assessed depends on the lender. If you’re a director with a salary and dividends, often that gives you a lower multiple – because you’re unlikely to have more dividends than net profit. Other lenders will use your salary and your net profit, or other variations, to allow a bit more borrowing.

How can a mortgage broker help? Is there anything else we need to know?

A mortgage broker is pretty essential in this situation, with the complexities that it often brings around the different rates and fees. Behind the scenes, you may not even know you’re taking a different route internally within a bank.

Without knowing these things, it can be challenging to find the most appropriate deal. But an experienced mortgage broker should be able to navigate that really quickly.

It’s all about getting in early on these things, making sure you understand the route you’re on and how to improve your chances: getting the right documents in place, keeping things clean and tidy, and making sure you’re on the electoral roll, for example. We’ll make sure you’re on track for success.

Key Takeaways:

• Some lenders might only go to around £1 million as a maximum loan, but others have no maximum. You could borrow £10-20 million, which definitely would be considered a large loan.
• Any borrowing that’s over £500,000 is normally considered larger – and definitely anything of £1 million plus. Mortgage processes can be a bit different beyond that point.
• An income over £100,000 typically allows you to get into the larger loan category, and the borrowing capacity can increase to 5.5, sometimes even six times.
• Bonuses, dividends, or other irregular income can be included in affordability assessments for large mortgage loans.
• A mortgage broker is essential in navigating the complexities, different rates, and fees associated with large mortgage loans.