Popular lender makes key change to mortgages – and you could borrow more
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A MAJOR mortgage lender has increased the number of benefits it will accept as income in mortgage applications in good news for families looking to buy or move house. Virgin Money will now include 15 different types of benefits income in its mortgage affordability assessments.
![[Virgin Money store sign.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/f37f9b8f-c11e-46e2-b5c1-b54bd5d8ee26.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The change means that more people will be able to count their benefit income as part of their affordability when applying for a mortgage, potentially allowing them to borrow more. This is because when you apply for a mortgage, the amount a lender will loan to you is largely based on your household income.
You can typically get around four times' your annual household income. Getting a larger mortgage could help you to keep up with rising house prices or could mean you are able to buy a larger home. The benefits that Virgin Money will now assess as part of a mortgage affordability assessment include:.
The change by Virgin Money comes as mortgage rates have been creeping up after the cost of government borrowing soared to its highest level in 27 years last week, while the Pound fell in value. Mortgage rates have been gradually coming down over the past few years and were expected to continue falling this year amid expectations that the Bank of England will keep cutting the base rate, which lenders use to set their own rates.
But now, rising government borrowing costs may have made lenders question their decision to cut their own rates. Governments often need more money than they can raise in tax, so they issue "bonds" which they use to borrow money - also known as "gilts".
