Buckinghamshire Building Society Mortgages

Buckinghamshire Building Society first opened in 1907, making it one of the new members of the Building Societies Association. It is also one of the smallest, with only one branch, their headquarters in Chalfont St. Giles. They offer a range of savings and banking services, but we’re going to focus on their mortgages and what they can offer both potential and existing customers.

About

“Doing the right thing” is the professed core mission of Buckinghamshire Building Society. This is represented not only in the fact that they are completely owned by members, not stakeholders, but also the role they play in the local communities of their branches, with community initiatives supporting local schools, clubs, and nonprofits, as well as their own charity foundation. For customers, they offer online banking, plenty of online guides and advice, and a subscription newsletter that can keep them up-to-date and informed on all news from the Society.

Products & features

Buckinghamshire Building Society has a legitimately impressive variety of loans for different purposes. Their website and financial advisers make it easy to find the mortgages most applicable to the customer, too. They include:

• Fixed rate – There are a range of mortgages with fixed interest rates lasting three years. All the fixed rates at time of writing are between 3% and 4%.
• Standard variable rate – The rate on these mortgages can change at any time. One advantage is that your rates could potentially go much lower than they otherwise would, as well as the fact that you can make overpayments or repay the entire loan early without charge.
• Discount rate – These mortgages begin with a discount period, reducing the interest so that new homeowners can keep some cash for renovations and furnishings. The amount saved is then added to the rest of the loan’s term.
• Base rate tracker – While standard variable rates are calculated by the Society, tracker rates follow the base rate set by the Bank of England. Like standard variable, it allows customers to overpay and pay early without charge.
• Buy-to-let – There is a range of both personal and commercial buy-to-let mortgages available, offering both fixed and discounted interest rates.
• Self-build mortgages and custom-build – For customers building their own home, there are loans with 2 years discounts taking initial interest payments down to as a low as 0.12%.
• Contractor – Self-employed workers, freelancers, and contractors can gain access to a 3-year discount loan that can cover a loan-to-value ratio of 95%.

A particularly eye-catching product offered by Buckinghamshire Building Society is their Bucks Solutions products. These are loans for customers with non-standard credit and bad credit, allowing them to potentially build their credit.

Another noteworthy feature is that many loans, such as family assist loans, can be taken at 100% loan-to-value ratio, meaning that borrowers require no deposit, potentially paying only for the product fees.

Summary

With a focus on customer service and ownership that is well-received by its members and the sheer variety of loans, general and specialised, it’s hard not to recommend Buckinghamshire Building Society as a mortgage provider. In particular, it can be difficult for people with non-standard credit, such as those on retirement income, to find a mortgage, so that particular range of products will be much appreciated by some.