Intermediary hub
We're here to help you find a mortgage that fits your client's needs, however unique. From renovations to self-builds, energy improvements to shared ownership - wherever a project delivers an environmental or social benefit, we'll consider lending. So, if you're looking for a specialist provider who will go beyond the mainstream to deliver innovative, straightforward solutions, you've come to the right place.
This page is for professional intermediary use only
Products
Whether a case is straightforward or unusual, if we can see an environmental or social benefit, we'll be keen to find out more.
Discounts
We offer a unique range of tiered discounts, based on a property's energy efficiency and available for the lifetime of the mortgage.
Calculator
Use our handy Excel affordability calculator to find out how much your client may be able to borrow with an Ecology mortgage.
Broker Online
Broker Online is an easy-to-use portal that enables you to submit DIPs, complete applications and upload documents.
Registered already? Need to submit or track an application?
Not yet registered? Want to join our broker community?
Lending guide
Want to know more about what we lend on? Our broker lending guide is designed to help you understand our lending criteria and whether our mortgages could meet your client's needs.
FAQs
Got a question? Check out the broker FAQs section for details on our application process and procuration fees. If you have a question that isn't covered, drop us a line and we'll be happy to help.
Contact us
Want to speak with one of our expert mortgage advisors? Click on the button to visit our contact page. You can give us a call or use the contact form to send a message directly to the mortgage team.
- Customer project
Chapeltown Cohousing: Strength in Diversity
Project type: Community-led housing
“It might not be everyone’s idea of paradise, but we’re very fond of Chapeltown. This is where we belong and we want to see it flourishing.” That’s the word on the street at Chapeltown Cohousing (ChaCo) – a community-led housing project in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Formed in 2010 following some impassioned conversations between neighbours, ...
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Bunker Self-Build: Affordable Homes For Brighton Families
Project type: Community-led housing
On an abandoned garage site in Brighton, Bunker Housing Co-op has spent the last four years creating a community of high-spec but affordable homes. The co-operative was borne out of the area’s spiralling housing crisis, which has forced many local residents into sub-standard rental accommodation at unsustainable rates. Property prices in Brighton ...
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Open House Project: A Budding Community
Project type: Community-led housing
Space for parties, film shows and meals; a productive garden and orchard; mutual support for childcare and older age; and connection with family and friends. It was a desire to make room for the good things in life that ignited the idea behind the Open House Project – a self-supportive co-housing community based on the outskirts of ...
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Ian’s Story: Embracing Low-Impact Living
Project type: Conversion
With far-reaching views over mid-Devon’s rolling hills, Ian’s new low-impact home has been designed to make the most of its expansive rural surroundings. The site comprises two adjoining buildings – a steel-framed Dutch barn and a pre-cast concrete cowshed – which are being given a new lease of life as an energy-efficient family home. An ...
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Dorothy, Meg & Mike’s Story
Project type: Self-build
Dorothy, Meg and Mike each had something unique to bring to their family self-build project in Sheffield. Combining skills, energy and resources they were able to achieve their collective vision of a more sustainable way of living. The land on which they have built their new home has witnessed dramatic transformations over the years, going from a ...
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Isabel & Andrew’s Story: Farm-Cottage Renovation
Project type: Renovation
Isabel and Andrew are modest about what they’ve achieved with their home in Norfolk. “We’ve just done a house up. Compared to most green builds, it’s a bit boring!” says Isabel. Contrary to Isabel and Andrew’s initial impression, their refurbishment didn’t have to be extraordinary for Ecology to see its positive potential – they ...
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Bath Street Collective: Breaking New-Build Norms
Project type: Community-led housing
Beyond its eye-catching appearance, 26 Bath Street might not strike you as unusual – a contemporary block of flats occupying a previously vacant plot in Edinburgh’s Portobello neighborhood. But this is no ordinary building – both from an environmental and a social perspective, it’s a break from new-build norms. Bath Street Collective Custom ...
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Jessie & George’s Story: Affordable People-Powered Housing
Project type: Community-led housing
London-based artists Jessie and George wanted to find an affordable property that they could treat as a home, not just an investment. Given the pressures of London’s inflated housing market, it was a challenge for them to find somewhere suitable, their options eventually becoming limited to the city’s outskirts. Keen to return to their ...
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Jude & Anna’s Story: A New Life In The Country
Project type: Renovation
When Jude and Anna received a phone call from a close friend asking if they would be interested in buying a run-down workers’ cottage in the beautiful High Weald in West Sussex, the timing was less than ideal. Anna was pregnant with their daughter and they’d just had their attic converted in their home in Brighton. Despite this, they took the ...
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Andy & Lorna’s Story
Project type: Renovation
Andy, an architectural designer, and Lorna, a charity development manager, wanted to improve the energy efficiency of their home, an old railway cottage in Hereford, as well as creating more space to accommodate their growing family. The original cottage was built by a railway carriage inspector in 1869, with solid brick walls and a slate roof ...
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What are your intermediary procurement fees and how are these paid?
Intermediary fees are 0.40% of the loan amount, with a minimum fee of £300 and a maximum of £2,000. The fee will be paid to the bank account specified by the intermediary via Bacs or Faster Payments.
How should my client pay any fees?
We will provide our bank details and application reference for any application and valuation fee to be collected.
Are your lending activities restricted?
We lend throughout England, Scotland, Northern Ireland & Wales. Full details of our criteria can be found in our Lending Criteria Guidelines.
Do you deal with applicants who have had adverse credit?
Yes, please refer to the Lending Criteria Guidelines for information.
For self-employed applicants, how many years’ accounts are required and what figures are used in assessing affordability?
A minimum of three years’ accounts must be available; our affordability assessment is completed as normal, using the average income received over these three years.
What income benefits are accepted?
You can find full details on the benefits we accept in our Lending Criteria Guidelines.
My client receives their income in a foreign currency. Will this income be taken into consideration when calculating affordability?
Income paid in a foreign currency is not considered in our affordability calculations.
How do I submit an application?
Please register as an intermediary on our Broker Online system and complete the online application.
I have never dealt with the Society before. Do I need to contact you by telephone to discuss submitting an application?
No, you can register online as a broker and apply for a DIP or submit an application online. However, please contact us if you wish to discuss a residential case which falls outside of our lending criteria, or if you have a buy-to-let case (buy-to-let cases must be referred to us prior to submission).
If you wish to discuss a proposal or have any questions, our Mortgage Team will be very happy to speak with you.
Who can I talk to about getting updates on one of my cases?
Please call our Mortgage Team directly on 01535 650 770.
Ecology Building Society was rated as an ethical Best Buy for our mortgages, ISAs and savings accounts by Ethical Consumer magazine in its product guide rankings (May/June 2018 issue).
