Are there military mortgages available?
Whilst there are a number of favourable Housing Schemes which aim to help armed forces personnel to get on to the property ladder, there is no specific armed forces mortgage as such. Having said this most mainstream and some specialist lenders will take a sympathetic approach when assessing mortgages for military personnel, so may take a different approach than they would if assessing a standard residential mortgage.
There are credit hurdles involved in the assessment of a military mortgage which, given the nature of military life may make it more challenging to arrange a mortgage. These factors may include a low credit score given the nature of military housing and military deployment.
It could also include factors such as missed payments on loan or other credit commitments which arise as a result of changes in location, deployment abroad whilst on active service. These factors can effect an applicants credit rating or indeed result in bad credit and a subsequent poor credit rating.
The good news is that lenders offering UK military mortgages tend to be sympathetic to these factor though it is important to find the right lender who will assist.
Which is why it is important when assessing your mortgage options to use the services of an experienced mortgage advisor, such as Goldmanread.
Talk to us about your military mortgage
What mortgage schemes are available to armed forces?
Armed forces help to buy scheme
The government launched the Armed Forces Help to Buy Schemes in 2014 with the goal of helping armed forces personnel to get on to the property ladder.
This is a £200m scheme which enables servicemen and women to borrow up to 50% of their salary as an interest free loan, to buy their first home as a first time buyer or move to another property as their needs change.
This Help to Buy scheme has now been extended to December 2022.
The scheme is open to all regular armed forces personnel and to qualify they must meet the following criteria:
- have completed the required length of service
- have a minimum length of more than six months left to serve
- meet certain medical categories
These rules are not set in stone and there may be exceptions made to these if necessary and due to extenuating circumstances.
The scheme allows service personnel to borrow up to 50% of their annual salary interest free, to a maximum of £25,000. The funds can be used towards a deposit or other fees associated with the property purchase for example estate agent fees.
In order to apply for the scheme service personnel should apply online through the Joint personnel administration system. Alternatively they can seek advice on the application through their Chain of Command or personnel agency.
I am an ex-armed forces personnel, can I apply for a mortgage?
Yes, as an ex military personnel applicant you are able to apply for a mortgage in the same way as any other applicant seeking to arrange a mortgage. Given your ex military background mortgage lenders will usually take a sympathetic approach, as they do currently with military borrowers.
They will look at the same factors such as any gaps in your address history whilst stationed abroad or indeed any minor adverse credit that you may have experienced throughout your period of service and which may have had a negative impact on your credit file.
It’s important when applying for a mortgage to be aware of any other debts you may have in the background as these will be taken into account when assessing your eligibility for a mortgage. This is the same whether you are a first time buyer or looking simply for a new mortgage deal.
