Green mortgage
How much can you borrow?
Unless stated otherwise on the product information page, you can borrow up to 90% of our mortgage valuation of the property or the purchase price (if applicable), whichever is lower (providing we approve your application).
Your Green mortgage can move with you
All our mortgages are portable. This means that if you move home, you can have a mortgage on your new home on the same terms, providing that your new home is a satisfactory security for the loan, is situated in either England or Wales and that your financial position meets our criteria at the time.
Free valuation
Because we need to know how much your property or the property you want to buy is worth, we will pay for a valuation as part of some of our mortgages. See the product information page for more details.
If you want a Homebuyer’s Report or a Full Structural Survey, either can be completed at the same time as our mortgage valuation, but you’ll have to pay for this additional service. If a second valuation is required, any additional fees incurred will have to be paid by you.
Fixed or Discounted Rate period
All our Green mortgages have fixed or discounted rates. So, at the end of the fixed or discounted rate period, our standard variable interest rate will apply to your mortgage.
This may be higher or lower than the rate that applied during the fixed or discounted rate period, which means you should budget for higher payments.
Payment holidays and underpayment options
We try to make our mortgages as flexible as possible for you. We know that sometimes you may want to pay more than the standard monthly repayment, and you can with your N&P mortgage.
Overpaying can also make it possible for you to underpay on occasions – or even skip a few payments completely. You can exercise either option providing you have made enough overpayments to cover the payment holiday or the underpayment(s).
Free legal fees or £200 cashback
We offer free legal fees or £200 cashback on some of our mortgages. This means that if you’re remortgaging and use a conveyancer selected and instructed by us, we’ll pay the legal fees. Or if you’re buying your home we’ll send you a cheque for £200 on completion (unless stated otherwise on the product information page).
Our charges
A Product fee will be added to your mortgage account on completion. If you choose not to arrange your buildings insurance through us, or if you arrange it through us and subsequently cancel the policy, a fee will be charged.
Pay off your Green mortgage early
You can do so whenever you want but an early repayment charge may be payable if all or part of the loan is repaid during the early years of the mortgage term. The charge will be calculated using the interest rate that applies when the loan is repaid. See the product information page for more information on early repayment charges.
What makes our mortgages 'Green'?
Every year for the first five years of your Green mortgage, we'll plant eight trees on your behalf. This could make your home 'carbon neutral®'.
'Carbon neutral®' happens when the estimated emissions of CO2 from the home are offset by the estimated absorption rate of CO2 by the new trees. The actual amount of carbon taken up by individual trees varies considerably depending on the site, species and management - on average, it takes one tree grown to maturity to soak one tonne of CO2.
We work with The CarbonNeutral Company, which was set up in 1989 to help offset the damage done to the environment by businesses and individuals. The CarbonNeutral Company and its planting partners plant and maintain new forests or add to existing forests, arrange to measure carbon uptake and develop carbon management programmes.
You can calculate your currents home’s CO2 emissions by visiting the CarbonNeutral Company website.
The Norwich and Peterborough forests are being created in East Anglia and Lincolnshire as a result of customers taking out our 'Green' mortgages. Customers may request that a tree be planted elsewhere in the UK.
This does not apply to 'Green' Additional Borrowing.
Minimum advance
The standard minimum advance is £20,000 (unless stated otherwise).