Major mortgage lender reduces upper age limit

One of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders has reduced its upper age limit in a blow for home buyers .

Halifax is imposing a new 70-year age limit on the terms of its home loans for some borrowers.

A maximum working age of 70 will apply to remortgage applications and some purchase and remortgage applications because of the level of credit score achieved and overall credit profile.

Commenting on the move, Craig Fish, director at Lodestone Mortgages and Protection, told the Newspage agency: “What a slap in the face to those in need from the Halifax. When most lenders are adjusting their criteria to help more people, Halifax are adjusting theirs to help less, and more importantly to help less of those who need it the most. 

“This is not what you would expect from such a large lender, who are already not in brokers' good books due to their secretive rate setting policy when it comes to helping existing customers. This is going to tarnish the Halifax name even further. They are no longer the popular name on the high street they used to be.”

Halifax had only raised the limit last summer.

Adrian Lowery, financial analyst at wealth manager Evelyn Partners, said: “Beset by a number of financial challenges including high house prices, elevated mortgage rates, the general cost of living, and acting as the bank of Mum and Dad (possibly also caring for elderly parents to boot), the leeway to extend a loan past 70 years has been adopted as a coping mechanism.

“While many such borrowers will be confident that they can either shorten the loan at a later date, or continue repayments beyond 70 - either because they will keep working or have a good pension in place, or both – the Halifax would probably argue that they need to have responsible criteria in place.

“There’s no doubt that as property prices remain very high and as we are very unlikely to return to the super-low mortgage rates enjoyed until a couple of years ago, many households will have to revise either their homebuying demands, their cash-flow expectations or possibly even the date and style of their retirement.”