Archives: FAQ - Mortgages

Do I need to provide planning permission for my renovation?

Planning permission is required from your Local Authority if you are extending or altering the property and this requires formal planning permission.

What information do I need to progress my renovation mortgage application?

You’ll need to have a specific property renovation in mind and provide details of material and labour costs, the current Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of the property and the projected EPC rating when you complete your renovation. The property should be improved by a minimum of one EPC banding to qualify for this mortgage product.

What deposit do I need for my renovation?

You will need a minimum 10% deposit on the purchase price along with some funds to start the project – your mortgage advisor will be able to discuss the cashflow required for each project, if you are aware of how much the renovation costs will be.

Do I still need a deposit for my renovation if I already own the property?

No, you don’t always need a deposit; we can lend based on the value of your property to start the renovation, providing you already own the property and it’s mortgage-free. Also, we can help you repay any outstanding finance on the property if you need it.

Do borrowers who are planning to renovate need to show how they plan to improve the property’s energy efficiency?

Any project we support needs to show details of the proposed renovation with an indication of the Energy Standards you are renovating to, and how the renovation costs are expected to be funded with savings and mortgage finance. We don’t just lend on the property purchase.

How long do I have to complete the renovation?

We allow a maximum of 2 years for you to complete the renovation, although we encourage you to complete earlier to benefit from our C-Change retrofit discount which is applied to our Variable Rate from the date we receive evidence that both the work has been completed and the Energy Standard rating required has been achieved.

Do you offer stage payments for a renovation?

Yes, we release funds as and when the renovation progresses and release up to a percentage of the increased value of the property.

Can I have interest-only mortgage during the renovation phase?

We offer an interest-only mortgage only when you have a qualifying repayment vehicle to support this for example an established ISA, endowment policies or Pension Plan.

Does the renovation property have to be my main residence?

Yes, although we do offer a buy-to-let mortgage. Please bear in mind that we don’t offer mortgages for second homes, holiday homes or homes classed as mobile planning.

For us to apply the C-Change energy improvements discount, once your work is complete you need to provide us with all applicable invoices of energy measures installed.

The discount is applied to our Standard Variable Rate when we receive invoices for completed work for eligible energy measures.

How we work out your Variable Mortgage Rate:
Our Standard Variable Rate minus C-Change discount = Variable Mortgage Rate

Energy Standard	Ratings	Buy-to-let Variable Rate	Discount %	Variable Mortgage Rate
Passivhaus	Passivhaus	5.15%	1.25%	3.9%.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	A or above	5.15%	0.75%	4.40%
Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH)	Code Level 4	5.15%	0.75%	4.40%
Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH)	Code Level 5	5.15%	1.00%	4.15%
Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH)	Code Level 6	5.15%	1.25%	3.90%
AECB	Silver	5.15%	0.75%	4.40%
AECB	Gold	5.15%	1.25%	3.90%

For whole house renovations: C-Change Retrofit	Ratings	Variable Rate	Discount	Variable Mortgage Rate
Energy performance Certification for retrofit projects (EPC)	EPC rating improvement	5.15%	0.25% per grading improvement	4.9%-3.65%

C-Change Energy Improvement discount	Ratings	Variable Rate	Discount	Variable Mortgage Rate
For specific energy improvement works	Evidenced via invoices and our C-Change energy improvement checklist	5.15%	A 1.00% discount is applied on funds borrowed specifically for qualifying energy improvement works (see C-Change energy improvement checklist)	4.15% on funds borrowed specifically for qualifying energy improvement works 5.15% for funds borrowed that are not related to qualifying energy improvement works to the property

For new builds: C-Change sustainable homes discount Energy Standard	Ratings	Buy-to-let Variable Rate	Discount %	Variable Mortgage Rate
Passivhaus	Passivhaus	6.79%	1.50%	5.29%
Passivhaus	PHPP Modelled	6.79%	0.75%	6.04%
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	A++ (SAP rating 110+)	6.79%	1.25%	5.54%
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	A+ (SAP rating 100-109)	6.79%	1.00%	5.79%
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	A (SAP rating 92-99)	6.79%	0.75%	6.04%
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	B (SAP rating 88-91)	6.79%	0.50%	6.29%
Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB)	AECB CarbonLite Building Standard	6.79%	1.00%	5.79%

For whole house renovations: C-Change retrofit	Ratings	Buy-to-let Variable Rate	Discount	Variable Mortgage Rate
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for retrofit projects	EPC rating improvement	4.90%	0.25% per grading improvement	4.65% - 3.40%

C-Change energy improvement discount	Ratings	Buy-to-let Variable Rate	Discount	Variable Mortgage Rate
For specific energy improvements works	Evidenced via invoices and our C-Change energy improvement checklist***	6.79%	A 1.00% discount is applied on funds borrowed specifically for qualifying energy improvement works (see C-Change energy improvement checklist***)	5.79% * 6.79% **

* on funds borrowed specifically for qualifying energy improvement works
** for funds borrowed that are not related to qualifying energy improvement works to the property
*** C-Change energy improvement checklist

Do we need to provide planning permission for a new build development?

Yes, we require detailed planning permission for an application.

What information do we need to progress a mortgage application?

We will need to be satisfied that you have enough income or surplus to meet the mortgage repayments and we’ll need to see a business plan showing the forecast income and expenditure for the organisation together with copies of your past three years’ accounts.

What deposit do we need for our mortgage?

You need a minimum deposit of 30% of the purchase price or value of the property(ies) being mortgaged, whichever is the lower.

Do we still need a deposit if we already own the land and have planning permission?

No, you don’t always need a deposit; we can lend based on the value of your land or property, providing you already own the land and it’s mortgage-free. Also, if you need us to, we can help you repay any outstanding finance on the land.

How long do we have to complete a new build or renovation project?

Subject to planning constraints, we allow a maximum of 2 years for you to complete the project.

Do you offer stage payments?

Yes, although we do not release payments at set construction milestone stages (e.g. foundation, wall plate etc). We release funds as and when the build progresses and release up to a percentage of the increased value of the property.

Can we have interest-only during a new build or renovation phase?

Yes, we can consider an interest-only period during the construction or renovation phase.

Does Ecology require a particular build warranty on completion of my project?

A build warranty is not a mandatory lending requirement of our mortgage and we are happy with a Building Regulation Completion Certificate. However, if you wish to take out a build warranty for the completion of the property then this is acceptable to the Society.

Do we need to have been established for a minimum period before you will lend to us?

Yes, you need to have a minimum of three years’ trading or accounting history.

How much will our mortgage cost a month?

As soon as we know that we can help, we’ll provide you with an indicative illustration, showing how much your monthly repayment will be for the amount you want to borrow, over the term you require.

• A non-refundable mortgage application fee is payable on submitting a formal application
• An offer acceptance fee is payable on acceptance of a formal mortgage offer from us
• We will agree a valuation fee with you using a local qualified chartered surveyor. Payment of the fee agreed will be required from you in advance of the Society formally instructing the surveyor to undertake a valuation report
• An early repayment charge may be payable if you repay all or part of your mortgage within the first two years.

Our service, fees, tariffs and charges

The Society reserves the right to amend existing services and charges, or to introduce new ones.

Any change to charges will only reflect the increased operational costs of providing the service. You will always be notified before any changes are implemented.

For further details and tariff information please see our commercial rates and charges leaflet.

Normally you will be purchasing a property that is already fully completed and to qualify for our mortgage the property must be classified as an energy efficient property. You will need to provide us with evidence that the property achieves one of the Energy Standards ratings  in the table below.

How we work out your Variable Mortgage Rate:
Standard Variable Rate (SVR) minus C-Change discount = Variable Mortgage Rate

Energy Standard	Ratings	SVR (Standard Variable Rate)	Discount %	Variable Mortgage Rate
Passivhaus	Passivhaus	4.65%	1.25%	3.40%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.80% APRC representative.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	A	4.65%	0.75%	3.90%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.80% APRC representative.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	B	4.65%	0.50%	4.15%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.80% APRC representative
Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH)	Code Level 4	4.65%	0.75%	3.90%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.80% APRC representative
Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH)	Code Level 5	4.65%	1.00%	3.65%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.80% APRC representative
Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH)	Code Level 6	4.65%	1.25%	3.40%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.80% APRC representative
Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB)	Silver	4.65%	0.75%	3.90%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.80% APRC representative
Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB)	Gold	4.65%	1.25%	3.40%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.80% APRC representative