Skipton Building Society has announced it is extending its standard mortgage offer validity period from six months to nine months.
The change, active now, applies to residential purchases, remortgage and buy to let mortgage offers. The announcement comes alongside extending additional borrowing offers from one month to three.
Skipton Building Society said the change puts themselves among the first lenders to make nine-month mortgage offers standard, providing “additional certainty for customers and brokers where property chains, legal processes or other factors outside the customer’s control cause a transaction to take longer than expected.”
Skipton said it hoped the move would mean fewer cases requiring a replacement offer, helping reduce avoidable administration for their clients and brokers.
Si Farrell-Roberts, head of lending at Skipton Building Society, said: “Getting a mortgage offer is a major milestone, but it isn’t the end of the homebuying journey. What really matters is helping customers get the keys to their home.
“Buying a home is one of the biggest financial and emotional commitments people make, but the journey from offer to completion doesn’t always go to plan. Property chains and legal delays can create uncertainty through absolutely no fault of the customer.
“That’s why we’re extending our standard mortgage offers from six to nine months. It’s about giving customers greater certainty and breathing space, reducing pressure on brokers and removing unnecessary friction from the process.
“We could see that customers with perfectly viable purchases were having to revisit parts of the mortgage process simply because their transaction had taken longer than expected. This is a practical change designed around the reality of buying a home today.
“We want more customers to successfully complete their homebuying journey, not get caught up in avoidable process. Making nine-month offers standard is another way Skipton is challenging traditional approaches to lending and focusing on the things that make a meaningful difference to customers and brokers.”
