Income Boost

A Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor mortgage is another name for an Income Boost. It is a specialist type of family-support mortgage that allows a family member or friend to help a buyer or homeowner increase their mortgage affordability by adding your income to theirs on a mortgage application.

Widely considered to be a ‘next-generation’ guarantor mortgage, this product can be a great option if you want to help a loved one get on the ladder without giving them money, especially if your loved one is on a low salary which is limiting their ability to get the loan size they need to buy. 

Only the home buyers will have any rights to the property (they are the "sole proprietor"), but you will be named on the mortgage as a "joint borrower", which means you will be liable to pay the mortgage if your loved one cannot.

To qualify for an Income Boost mortgage, the guarantor will need to meet the age requirements. This is because the length of the mortgage term is determined by the age of the oldest person named on the application. Most lenders require the mortgage loan to be paid off by the time the oldest borrower is 75 or 80.

A few lenders will extend beyond this, but if you’re over the age of 60, it’s likely the repayments could become more expensive. 

Alongside the buyers, guarantors will also undergo an affordability assessment. This includes assessing your income, outgoings, credit rating as well as proof of identification.

Various types of income sources will be considered when assessing applicant's eligibility for an Income Boost. Both pension and employed income can be included, along with any other income, for example buy-to-let.

However, you will have to provide evidence of each source. For example, if you’re self-employed, you may have to supply up to 2-3 years worth of accounts to evidence your earnings.

Up to four people can be named on an Income Boost mortgage. So if you want to help your child and their significant other buy their first home, you and your partner could both be added onto the mortgage application.

For the most part, the process of applying for an Income Boost is not dissimilar to that of a standard residential mortgage or remortgage. 

Once you’ve completed a Saga Mortgages recommendation, you’ll be invited to book an appointment and begin the advice process. If you decide an Income Boost is a good fit for you and your family, we’ll complete a full qualification for all applicants. This includes verifying your income, outgoings, identity, and credit history.

Your dedicated mortgage advisor will take you and your loved one through the options available from our panel of over 100 lenders, and once you’ve chosen a suitable product, we’ll submit the application for you. 

Note that it is a condition of the terms of these mortgages that you – as a joint borrower with no ownership rights - take independent legal advice. This is to ensure you’re willingly entering into the agreement and understand the implications. 

Because the mortgage is based on you and your loved one’s income, you might be worried that the repayments could be unaffordable for them. With an Income Boost set up, the lender will check both you and your loved one’s affordability to ensure that the loan is affordable.

Plus, it’s important to remember that for most young people, they are used to paying rent which takes up a similar amount of their earnings that a mortgage would. For example, monthly repayments for the average property, which costs £291,000, would cost £1,248*.

The average salary is £34,000, which means that these mortgage costs would take up 44% of their monthly pay before tax. While the average rent in the UK costs £1,275 each month, making up 45% of their monthly pre-tax earnings.

However, if you’re concerned about their ability to make the repayments and you don’t wish to contribute towards them, you should think very carefully about taking out an Income Boost and seek independent advice. 

*Based on 85% LTV, with a 35 year mortgage term and 5% mortgage interest rate.

Most lenders require the mortgage loan to be paid off by the time the oldest borrower is 75 or 80 years old, although some lenders extend beyond this. This means that if you are over the age of 60, your age is likely to make the repayments more expensive for your loved ones.

If you are over the maximum age requirements, it’s worth considering alternative ways to support your loved one’s home purchase. 

Yes, there are various ways you can support your loved one’s home purchase. For example, if you want to help bolster their house deposit, you can use a Deposit Boost, Savings as Security mortgage or even downsize or remortgage your property to release equity from it.

You could also direct them to an expert in mortgage affordability like the team at Saga Mortgages, who can help them discover ways they can boost their buying budget, with or without family support. Or allow them to move into your home and pay a small amount of rent, enabling them to save up a house deposit of their own sooner.

Yes, a guarantor can be removed from the mortgage if the other applicants are able to afford the mortgage on their own.

In this way, an Income Boost can be used as a short-term solution to help younger buyers get on the ladder sooner. When they can afford the property alone, they would simply need to remortgage the property and remove your name from the mortgage.

If you plan to retire in the next few years, or you’re approaching retirement age, you’ll need to be able to evidence what your future pension income will be. 

In the event of a guarantor passing away, the homeowner will need to go through another mortgage affordability assessment to determine if they can afford the mortgage on their own. If they are unable to afford the loan by themselves, they may have to sell the property.

Saga Mortgages is a service created to better support those over 50 looking to take out a mortgage. You’ll benefit from Tembo's award-winning advice from their friendly, experienced team of mortgage professionals, who are available seven days a week. They’ll search all the available options to find the best solution for you and your family.

When it comes to Income Boost and family support mortgages, Saga Mortgages has particular expertise. The service is provided by Tembo, a digital mortgage broker who specialise in boosting affordability using guarantor mortgages, and other specialist schemes. 

To understand how an Income Boost could work for you and your family, create a Saga Mortgages recommendation. This shows you indicative monthly repayments, live interest rates and product explainers for this and other guarantor schemes. Complete our short fact find to begin.  

The Saga Mortgage service enables you to book an appointment with award-winning mortgage advisors. Simply complete our online fact find and, if you’re eligible, you’ll be directed to book an appointment.

The team is available 7 days a week, ready to answer any questions you may have about Income Boost mortgages.

With Saga Mortgages, you could access deals from high-street lenders like Nationwide, Halifax, Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC. We also offer access to specialist lenders like Livemore and Generation Home.

All mortgage advice through Saga Mortgages is provided by Tembo Money Limited. They are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the registration number 952652. Their team of mortgage advisors can provide guidance on remortgaging, family mortgages and later life lending.