Over-40s are on a mortgage shopping spree – but age restrictions mean they’re struggling to borrow
The over-40s are going berserk for mortgages – but banks and building societies are having trouble lending to them because of age restrictions, new research has found.
The findings, by Nottingham Building Society, suggested two in five mortgage brokers have reported a rise in mortgage customers over the age of 40 – but 17 per cent of those rejected reported age was the major reason.
Among those aged between 45 and 54, that rose to 21 per cent.
Some 34 per cent of brokers said they expected the problems to continue into this year.
Nottingham Building Society said brokers are "working hard" to ease restrictions on lending for older borrowers.
"It is baffling for people in their early 40s to be told they are too old to have a mortgage and particularly so when the average age of first-time buyers is rising which means some could even be first-time buyers," said Ian Gibbons, senior mortgage broking manager at Nottingham Mortgage Services.
“However there are options out there for older borrowers and the key to ensuring they get the most appropriate mortgage is to search the whole market. If your existing lender is restricted on what it can do there are other options.”