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Mortgages

Building society extends maximum lending age to 95

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
11/05/2018

Family Building Society has overhauled its maximum mortgage term to accommodate older borrowers up to age 95.

The maximum term of the mortgage is now set by the age of the oldest borrower at the end of the term – with a maximum age of 95.

For example, a 60-year-old could have a 35-year term and an 80-year-old a 15-year term.

The move from Family BS is the latest as the mortgage market adapts to increasingly older borrowers.

Earlier this month Loughborough Building Society removed its age limit for older borrowers altogether, noting that it would allow a maximum term of up to 25 years even if the borrower was over 70 years old.

Poor lender service

Family BS director of business development Keith Barber criticised lenders for serving older borrowers “poorly”.

“Changing socio-economics demand new strategies from lenders that address the needs of borrowers across the age range,”  he said.

“Having some or all of your mortgage on a repayment basis, rather than interest-only, means the outstanding debt will be reducing over time and extending the term over which this can be done makes the monthly payment more affordable.

“This will appeal to many retired borrowers who have found that, for whatever reason, they have not been able to repay their mortgage as quickly as they would have liked,” he added.