Family by name, family by nature: Family Building Society launches 100% LTV product

The first-time buyer segment is always In high demand but many brokers still find placing applications tricky when it comes to affordability. Traditionally, buyers have been expected to put down 5–10% of the property – which can be stretch for first time buyers eager to get onto the property ladder.

Family Building Society is pushing back with a 100% LTV, familyassisted solution. Its revamped Family Mortgage gives brokers a fresh way to help first time buyers and next steppers who are long on affordability but short on deposit. Rather than the buyer producing a lump sum, a family member can support the purchase by allowing a charge over their own property or by placing funds into a savings account held with the lender. Or a combination of both.

“Offering clients a 0% deposit mortgage allows even more borrowers to get onto that housing ladder, perhaps a little bit earlier than they could before,” says Paul Roberts, senior account director at Family Building Society. “Parents may have unlocked wealth; they often have property. Now they can put that to use.”

How it works in practice – and how brokers can capitalise

A deposit is optional. If a buyer has some funds to put down, they can do. The remaining security up to 20% of the value of the property sits with the wider family rather than the buyer. A relative can either allow Family Building Society to take a charge over their own property, or place funds into a linked savings account that the lender holds as security — earning interest on that money while it supports the buyer’s mortgage. The security is only held for five years, provided monthly payments are made on time.

Because the security remains with the family, brokers can unlock cases where affordability is clear but liquid savings are not – putting parents’ or grandparents’ unlocked wealth to work without them needing to gift capital outright.

For advisers, the opportunity is recognising now’s the time to lean in. Georgina England, business development manager at Family Building Society, urges brokers to get close to their BDM and really understand what’s available.

“There’s such a need for support for intergenerational borrowers and we have a really rich toolkit to help them,” England notes. “It's always worth knowing your BDM, knowing the intricacies of our product, and really understanding how we can help.”

Roberts agrees, pointing to an adage that’s stood the test of time.

“Knowledge is power,” he says. “The more knowledge you have of innovative products out in the market that can help your clients, the better advice you can give.”

Family by name, family by nature: an intergenerational approach

The Family Mortgage is one part of a much broader intergenerational strategy that has underpinned the society since it launched its original Family Mortgage back in 2014. As England puts it, “we’re family by name, but also family by nature.”

“Our mission is to support everyone in the family with their housing goals, whatever generation they’re in. Our products really help us to do that.”

That ethos also runs through the joint borrower sole proprietor (JBSP) range. Here, family members can go on the mortgage but not the title, using their income to boost affordability. Crucially, this works in both directions: parents helping children onto the ladder, or adult children helping parents stay in — or move to — the right home later in life. It means the intergenerational story is not just about the “Bank of Mum and Dad,” but about flexible support.

Their lending policy has been engineered with those realworld scenarios in mind. Family Building Society will lend on JBSP up to age 95, with terms of up to 25 years even where a supporting borrower is already in their seventies — a stark contrast to mainstream caps at 75 or 80. The product goes up to 90% LTV and allows up to four applicants, with all four incomes considered, giving brokers meaningful extra headroom on tricky affordability cases.

Tying back to Family’s purpose, none of these products are confined to classic firsttime buyers. Whether clients have owned before but are effectively starting again after life events, are laterlife borrowers who can afford payments but struggle to rebuild a meaningful deposit or have reached a point where they need to move closer to loved ones, there’s a solution for each scenario.

For brokers, another key distinction is the way cases are assessed. Roberts is frank about the limitations of a pure highstreet, creditscore approach, particularly for clients with thinner files, patchy credit, or multiple recent address changes. Family Building Society, by contrast, underwrites on a casebycase basis.

“We look at each case on individual merit in terms of that borrower,” he explains. “Brokers can come to us and tell us their client’s story, and we'll handle the case with a more human touch than the credit score lenders.”

Taken together, the refreshed Family Mortgage and JBSP range give advisers a genuinely intergenerational toolkit: helping younger buyers who are thin on deposit, “second steppers” rebuilding after a setback, and older borrowers who are rich in equity but constrained by income – as well as extended families whose support doesn’t always fit the traditional mould. For brokers willing to look beyond the high street and dig into these resources, there’s often more that can be done for these complex, multigenerational cases than a sourcing system might initially suggest.

Rising demand and a call for more creativity

It’s clear that demand for flexible, intergenerational solutions is only heading one way. Rents continue to rise, deposits remain tough to build, and more families are looking for ways to help. Family Building Society is already seeing demand pick up and is intentionally seeking ways to meet it.

“Creativity is certainly needed in this market,” says England. “Instead of paying somebody else’s mortgage, clients want to pay their own — and products like ours help bridge that gap.”

Roberts’s advice to brokers is simple: don’t let the sourcing system have the final word; check in with the smaller building societies.

“If you’re willing to explore what’s out there, there’s often a way to get clients where they want to be,” and in a market like this, that kind of product knowledge and creativity may prove just as valuable as the deposit itself.

This article was created in partnership with Family Building Society