The McNair family: first time buyer case study
Taking a manual approach to assessing affordability
Who did we help?
The McNairs are a young family from Edinburgh who were looking to purchase their first home.
Shona is an HR Manager at a multinational company and her husband James is a recruitment consultant. The arrival of their son Fergus last year impacted their efforts to raise a deposit though their parents were able to provide support in the form of a financial gift towards a new home.
"Parents were able to provide support in the form of a financial gift towards a new home."
What did they need?
The family had their eye on a three-bedroom townhouse in a new development in an up and coming part of the city.
It’s a high spec property with an NHBC guarantee and will suit them as their family grows.
"Our manual affordability assessment meant we didn’t immediately rule them out due to ONS."
Why were they facing challenges?
Shona and James have always been prudent and never borrowed much money.
As a result, they have a limited credit history other than a finance contract on two cars and had been knocked by several lenders’ inflexible approach to underwriting. The combination of gifted deposit, high LTV and a new build property meant they didn’t exactly fit some lenders’ criteria.
How did we help?
Our manual affordability assessment meant we didn’t immediately rule them out due to ONS.
Taking into account their salaries and prospects, sensible lifestyle and ‘safe’ property of choice, we were able to make them an offer via their broker within days.
Could our flexible approach to lending help one of your first time buyer clients? Give our Furness for Intermediaries team a call on 0800 988 1561 or contact your Business Development Manager.
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