The Family Building Society is a unique and highly specialist mutual lender with one clear mission: to help families use their money and property to help each other get onto the housing ladder.
They are the undisputed experts in family-assisted mortgages. Their innovative products are designed to solve the real-world problem of how parents, grandparents, and other family members can help their relatives buy a home, often without simply giving away a large cash deposit.
You can compare the latest rates available from The Family Building Society against the rest of the market by using our free rates comparison tool below:
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Product Details
Who are The Family Building Society?
Launched in 2014, The Family Building Society is part of the long-established National Counties Building Society. It was created specifically to address the growing affordability gap for first-time buyers and other borrowers.
As a mutual, they are owned by their members. Their entire philosophy is built on flexible, manual underwriting and creating bespoke mortgage solutions that involve the wider family. Their underwriters look at the family's entire financial picture to create a mortgage that works for everyone involved.
What are they known for?
The Family Building Society is famous for its flagship "Family Mortgage" and other innovative products that allow family members to provide security for a loan.
The Family Mortgage
This is their standout product. It allows a borrower to get a mortgage with a very small deposit (or sometimes no deposit at all) by using security provided by their family. This security can come in two forms:
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Security through Savings: A family member deposits savings into an account with the Society. This money acts as security against the mortgage and is returned to the family member with interest after a set period, provided all mortgage payments are made.
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Security through Property: A family member can allow a legal charge to be placed on their own home to act as security. This means they don't have to provide any cash. The charge is removed once the borrower has paid off enough of their own mortgage.
Other Specialist Areas
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Later Life Lending: They are experts in lending to older borrowers and offer Retirement Interest-Only (RIO) mortgages.
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Offset Mortgages: Many of their products can be set up as an offset mortgage, allowing you to use family savings to reduce the interest you pay on the loan.
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Self-Employed: Their manual underwriting makes them a good choice for applicants with complex incomes.
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Pros and Cons of a Family Building Society Mortgage
Pros:
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Innovative Solutions: Their Family Mortgage is a brilliant solution for buyers with little deposit but family support.
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Unrivalled Expertise: They are the leading experts in family-assisted lending.
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Human Underwriting: Every case is assessed by a person who can understand complex family financial situations.
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Keeps Family Money in the Family: Their products allow parents to help their children without having to gift away their life savings.
Cons:
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Complex Products: Their mortgages can be more complex to set up than a standard deal and require all parties to get independent legal advice.
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Higher Rates: The interest rates may be higher than on a standard low-LTV mortgage from a high-street bank, reflecting the specialist nature of the loan.
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Niche Focus: They are not the right lender for a straightforward borrower with a large deposit.
How to apply
The Family Building Society accepts mortgage applications from two main channels:
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Directly: You can apply yourself by speaking with their mortgage advisers.
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Through a Mortgage Broker (recommended): You can also use an independent mortgage adviser who can explain their unique products and manage the application for you.
If you want to explore whether The Family Building Society is the right mortgage lender for you, the best way to do that is speaking to a mortgage broker who specialises in the product line - get started here to arrange a free, no-obligation chat with one.