Ipswich Building Society has announced that it will now lend up to 5.5 times an individual’s income on mortgages where one applicant is earning over £75,000 per annum.

Previously, the income multiple sat at a maximum of 4.5 times the applicant’s income. 

The society said it is not limiting its maximum income multiples to professionals – such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, architects and vets – as its manual underwriting approach allows it to assess each application individually, and therefore underwriters can take a view on the applicant’s ability to maintain their income levels in the future.

Ipswich Building Society CEO, Richard Norrington, commented: “We’re really pleased to get 2021 off to a positive start by enhancing our income multiples for high earners. We feel this is an important step given the recent upwards movements in house prices and predictions of further growth this year.

“Whilst it’s likely that many higher multiple applicants will be professionals, it’s important to us to be inclusive and that’s why we’ve taken the step to allow anyone with a higher income to apply, so that we don’t exclude individuals who have made a financial success of their career in other fields or industries.”

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