Skipton Building Society is extending its standard mortgage offer validity period from six months to nine months, giving customers more time to complete their home purchase and reducing unnecessary pressure when transactions face delays.
The change, effective from 27 October, applies to residential purchase, remortgage and buy-to-let mortgage offers, which will now remain valid for nine months rather than six. Additional Borrowing offers will also be extended from one month to three months.
The move puts Skipton among the first lenders to make nine-month mortgage offers standard, providing additional certainty for customers and brokers where property chains, legal processes or other factors outside the customer’s control cause a transaction to take longer than expected
By providing that additional time from the outset, Skipton aims to reduce unnecessary re-offers and administration for brokers while giving customers greater confidence that delays outside their control will not unnecessarily disrupt their plans to move home.
Si Farrell-Roberts, Head of Lending at Skipton Building Society, said:
“Getting a mortgage offer is a major milestone, but it isn’t the end of the homebuying journey. What really matters is helping customers get the keys to their home.
“Buying a home is one of the biggest financial and emotional commitments people make, but the journey from offer to completion doesn’t always go to plan. Property chains and legal delays can create uncertainty through absolutely no fault of the customer.
“That’s why we’re extending our standard mortgage offers from six to nine months. It’s about giving customers greater certainty and breathing space, reducing pressure on brokers and removing unnecessary friction from the process.
“We could see that customers with perfectly viable purchases were having to revisit parts of the mortgage process simply because their transaction had taken longer than expected. This is a practical change designed around the reality of buying a home today.
“We want more customers to successfully complete their homebuying journey, not get caught up in avoidable process. Making nine-month offers standard is another way Skipton is challenging traditional approaches to lending and focusing on the things that make a meaningful difference to customers and brokers.”
The change will also mean fewer cases requiring a replacement offer purely because a transaction has overrun, helping reduce avoidable administration for brokers and their clients.
Eligible standard mortgage offers will retain the option of a further three-month extension, subject to Skipton’s existing requirements. There are no changes to existing lending criteria or underwriting standards, while valuation validity periods remain unchanged.
