- Only lender to offer first-time buyers a free home condition report worth over £500
- HomeFact condition report offered on selected 2-year and 5-year fixed rate first-time buyer products, with rates starting from 1.39 per cent
- Available exclusively in branch and across telephone channels
Santander Mortgages has introduced a free HomeFact condition report across a range of new first-time buyer mortgages, available from this month. The bank is the only lender to provide a home condition report, worth over £500, free-of-charge and its introduction forms part of Santander’s focus on supporting first-time buyers.
Countrywide Surveying Service’s HomeFact home condition report provides customers with essential information about their prospective new home, including its condition both inside and out, any areas that need urgent attention, security risks and how best to maintain the property. Of those homebuyers who don’t buy a condition report, one in five end up uncovering faults with their property, while a further 17% of people end up paying out more than £12,000 to make their new homes habitable1. The HomeFact report helps protect customers from incurring these unexpected costs after they move in.
Customers will also benefit from speaking with a RICS-qualified surveyor directly, including having a pre-inspection and follow-up service call, giving first-time buyers the opportunity to check their understanding of the content of the report, and ask any questions they may have. The service is also supported by a telephone helpdesk.
The new first-time buyer exclusives that include a free HomeFact condition report are:
- Two-year fixed rate; 75 per cent LTV; £999 fee; 1.39 per cent
- Two-year fixed rate; 75 per cent LTV; no fee; 1.84 per cent
- Two-year fixed rate; 90 per cent LTV; £999 fee; 1.89 per cent
- Two-year fixed rate; 90 per cent LTV; no fee; 2.34 per cent
- Two-year fixed rate; 95 per cent LTV; no fee; 2.89 per cent
- Five-year fixed rate; 75 per cent LTV; £999 fee; 1.69 per cent
- Five-year fixed rate; 75 per cent LTV; no fee; 1.94 per cent
- Five-year fixed rate; 90 per cent LTV; £999 fee; 2.44 per cent
- Five-year fixed rate; 90 per cent LTV; no fee; 2.49 per cent
- Five-year fixed rate; 95 per cent LTV; £0 fee; 3.24 per cent
Miguel Sard, Head of Mortgages at Santander said: “Going into the buying process with your eyes wide open and knowing what areas of the property need attention, can make a real difference to buyers – especially when it’s your first-time. The HomeFact condition report helps ensure that there are no nasty surprises, leaving new property owners to go and make the most of their new home.”
Paul Wareham, Managing Director Business to Business at Countrywide added: “HomeFact is a bespoke, digitally interactive report giving expert advice on the condition of a property enriched with property specific data insights. We have listened to what 15,000 customers told us about their requirements, adapted traditional methods, and are delivering a new service led product, to give the power of knowledge to our customers to help them make better informed decisions when it comes to one of the biggest purchases they will ever make.”
The latest enhancement to Santander Mortgages’ first-time buyer offering follows the bank’s launch of the ‘Santander First-Time Buyer Study: The Future of the Homeownership Dream’, which examines whether the ‘Homeownership Dream’ is at risk of becoming out of reach for middle-income Britain, individual buyers and those unable to draw on family wealth within the decade.
Products with the free HomeFact report are available by visiting any of Santander’s branches or through the mortgage phone team, who can be reached on 0800 068 6064.
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The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.
Notes to Editors
- ComsRes for RICS, 2018
- The Santander First-Time Buyer Study: The Future of the Homeownership Dream can be accessed here: https://www.santander.co.uk/assets/s3fs-public/documents/santander-first-time-buyer-study.pdf (13.81 MB)
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 30 June 2019, the bank has around 24,000 employees. It serves around 15 million active customers, via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking; and 62 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers’ eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.
About Us
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful presence in 10 core markets in Europe and the Americas, and is the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization. At the end of June 2019, Banco Santander had EUR 1.03 trillion in customer funds (deposits and mutual funds), 142 million customers, 13,000 branches and 200,000 employees. Banco Santander made underlying profit of EUR 4,045 million in the first half of 2019, an increase of 2% in constant euros compared to the same period last year.
About Countrywide plc
Countrywide plc is the UK’s largest property services group. The company spans both the residential and commercial sectors. As the largest single mortgage broker in the UK, Countrywide completed on over £15 billion of mortgages last year. With the biggest residential estate agency and lettings network in the country, Countrywide operates across all price points and in 2017 exchanged on over 50,000 homes, representing £19 billion worth of property. In addition, the company manages over 90,000 properties.
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