Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.

Hodge Lifts LTI Cap for High Earners; Lenders Cut Mortgage Rates

Hodge Bank has removed loan-to-income (LTI) caps for borrowers earning £40,000 or more across its residential mortgage products. Meanwhile, Tipton and Coseley Building Society, Virgin Money, and Principality Building Society have announced reductions to selected mortgage rates.

Hodge Bank previously applied tiered LTI caps linked to loan-to-value (LTV) bands. Under the new criteria, LTI caps will no longer apply to sole or joint borrowers with a minimum income of £40,000. The bank stated that this change is intended to give its underwriters greater flexibility to assess applications individually.

Tipton and Coseley Building Society has expanded its mortgage range and reduced selected rates by up to 0.14%. The new products include both fixed and variable rates, with expat buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage rates starting from 5.44% for a two-year discount at 80% LTV. Fixed rate alternatives include a five-year fix at 5.68% and a three-year fix at 5.98%, both at 80% LTV. For limited company BTL purchases, a two-year fix at 80% LTV is available at 5.55%. The Tipton has also expanded its Credit Plus offering, with a two-year discount rate at 80% LTV now from 5.49%. The two-year fixed rate has been reduced from 6.09% to 6.04%. Other reductions include a three-year fixed retirement interest-only (RIO) product at 60% LTV, now at 5.9%, and a later life purchase product at 70% LTV. The fee-free three-year fix at 90% LTV for standard residential purchases has been cut by 0.11% to 5.99%.

Virgin Money has announced reductions to selected mortgage rates, effective from 1 July. Two-year fixed rates for purchases will be reduced by up to 0.15%, five-year fixed by up to 0.1%, and 10-year fixes by up to 0.2%. Shared ownership fixed rates will be cut by up to 0.1%. Within its product transfer range, selected two-year fixed rates will be cut by up to 0.14%, three-year fixed by up to 0.06%, and five-year fixed by up to 0.07%. Selected BTL product transfer rates will also be reduced by up to 0.15%.

Principality Building Society has lowered its product transfer rates for residential and BTL borrowers. The changes apply to selected two-, three-, and five-year fixed product transfer rates from 65% to 90% LTV, with reductions of up to 0.25%.

These changes may be relevant to letting agents and inventory clerks monitoring mortgage product trends and affordability criteria for landlords and property investors.