Specialist lender Vida has made enhancements to its credit tier system and lending criteria, simplifying the options for borrowers across residential and buy-to-let categories.
The lender is reducing its previous five-tier system to three tiers, named Vida 36, Vida 24, and Vida 6. This streamlining is designed to help borrowers with historical credit issues or minor missteps access the best products and rates.
The new Vida 36 tier combines the previous Vida 48 and Vida 36 categories, supporting borrowers with past CCJs or defaults over three years old.
Now, all customers qualifying for Vida 36 will be offered Vida’s lowest range of rates, including those with unsecured payments of up to £250.
This move can assist borrowers who may have missed a store card or car loan repayment but wish to secure or switch a mortgage.
Alongside these changes, Vida is introducing various criteria enhancements. These include accepting child benefit income up to 100% and tips up to 75%, considering back-to-back remortgages within six months, and offering enhanced support for non-standard property types.
Self-employed income evidence up to 18 months old will be considered, given that the relevant bank statements are provided, and payslips will now be accepted as income evidence for contractors working under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).
Anth Mooney, CEO of Vida, said: “As the specialist lender, we recognise that sometimes people have a minor blip or historical adverse, and we want to give these borrowers as good an opportunity as possible to find a place to call home, which is why we have simplified our credit tiers.”
He added: “We are always striving to improve our proposition, and in a time of increasing interest rates and high inflation, we want to support people with affordability by increasing the types of income we can accept, alongside other criteria enhancements across residential and buy-to-let.”
