Best Mortgage Lenders UK 2024

It’s difficult to determine who the best mortgage lender is due to the market’s seemingly endless number of them. The vast variety of interest rates each lender offers can also make it challenging.

Obviously, what is best for you may not be best for someone else. It’s difficult to quantify the term “best” because it has different meanings for different people.

Your preferred mortgage lender should be the provider for whom you meet all of their criteria and who offers the most suitable programme for your needs.

As all lenders have a wide variety of varying criteria, to make your mortgage journey easier, we have collated a list of mortgage lenders below with some of their distinctive selling points. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the greatest, but it does give an idea of who may help you given your circumstances.

Halifax

Given that Halifax is a member of the Lloyds Banking Group, which has the largest market share in the industry, you’d expect them to be popular. Indeed, they have a wide variety of eligibility requirements, making them suitable for many prospective borrowers.

As a result of their experience lending on a variety of property types, Halifax has amassed a vast database of information regarding properties, which they use to their advantage. They have a fairly individualised approach to the type of property. While there will still be specific instances in which they will not lend, they will invariably evaluate any property based on their valuers’ opinions.

They may also be flexible for those who have been self-employed for less than the standard 2-year requirement. In addition to other requirements, if you have at least one year of trading accounts or HMRC submissions, they will consider you for a mortgage.

Nationwide

Nationwide Building Society achieved the status of a Which? Recommended provider for 2024. In 2023, Which? surveyed customers on a range on lenders, asking them to rank their lender on things such as customer service, value for money and more.

Which? then gave each lender a percentage score out of 100. Nationwide building society managed to obtain the highest score of 78%, alongside Skipton Building Society and Yorkshire Building Society.

Nationwide has a strong market reputation for assisting first-time buyers. Typically, they are one of the lenders who participate in government and affordable housing programmes like Shared Ownership. An alternative to the government’s mortgage guarantee scheme is the Deposit Unlock Scheme. Nationwide provide mortgages as part of this scheme. 

BM Solutions

BM Solutions specialise in Buy-to-Let mortgages and are also owned by Lloyds Banking Group. With this being their only lending area, they are able to concentrate solely on the criteria and products that best suit this sector.

Many lenders continue to require a Buy-to-Let applicant to have a personal income of at least £25,000 per year. Whereas BM Solutions has no minimum income requirements.

BM Solutions is an intermediary-only lender. This essentially means they do not deal with the general public directly. So, if you’re considering them for your mortgage, you’ll need to use a mortgage broker or other professional.

The Mortgage Works (TMW)

Similar to BM Solutions and Lloyds Banking Group, TMW is the Buy-to-Let division of Nationwide. Again, by concentrating solely on BTL mortgages, they can ensure that they remain competitive in numerous markets. They are able to offer Buy-to-Let mortgages to the following:

• First-time landlords
• Portfolio landlords
• Limited companies
• Self-employed landlords
• Houses in Multiple Occupancy

TMW understands the needs of those who see the value in holding multiple Buy-to-Let properties. While their criteria do not guarantee they will be able to assist everyone, they do offer a broad range of options.

Aldermore

Few will recognise Aldermore, but specialist mortgage brokers utilise them often. They possess a well-defined set of standards for those with a bad credit record.

Aldermore understand that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always work when looking for a mortgage. Therefore, they take a slightly different approach to how they assess a potential borrower’s application.

Their products are particularly suitable for applicants with a “light adverse” credit history e.g., those who have previously encountered problems but are still eligible and sit just outside the reach of being accepted with the more recognised high street lenders.

Bluestone

Bluestone excels at providing bad credit mortgages. As with lenders such as Aldermore, they have an excellent understanding of the needs of those with past credit issues.

They will apply a slightly different approach to the usual high street lender. Instead of seeing a bad credit event on your file and shying away, they will look into it further, considering things like what type of bad credit event occurred and how long ago it happened. From here they might be able to offer you a tailored mortgage product.

They establish concrete guidelines so that applicants know their chances of approval if they apply. Bluestone also have a clearly defined structure of interest rates. This is so that applicants know, depending on the nature of their credit issues, what level of interest can be obtained.

HSBC

Another significant lender on our list, ranking sixth for market share. The crowning achievement of HSBC is their knowledge of the self-employed and consequently their complex business set-ups and accounts.

They are one of the very few lenders who will assess the affordability of limited company directors based on their salary income and share of the company’s net profits. Rather than calculating the maximum loan amount based on salary and dividends, this method can make a substantial difference in borrowing

HSBC also offer first-time buyer mortgages, remortgage deals, home mover mortgages and Buy-to-Let mortgages. So no matter what mortgage you are looking for, they are definitely worth some consideration.

Santander

A first thought when thinking about interest-only mortgages is Santander. Interest-only now occupies such a small portion of the mortgage market, as so few lenders will even consider it.

Having access to a lender with relatively flexible criteria and typically competitive interest rates makes Santander an attractive option.

Santander also offer first-time buyer mortgages, in which they can accept 5% deposit deals and gifted deposits. This can be great for those who want to get onto the property ladder.

NatWest

NatWest is a lender that offers a diverse and flexible approach to a variety of circumstances. However, their consideration for those on a Tier 2 Visa stands out as particularly advantageous to our clients.

Maximum loan-to-value (LTV) regulations still apply for Tier 2 Visa applicants/foreign nationals. However, Nat West’s criteria gives them the ability to help where other lenders wouldn’t.

It’s not a guarantee that a lender will offer you a mortgage if you know who they’re flexible about assisting in principle. Although, it’s always best to steer towards a lender that you know can help people in your situation.

The Mortgage Centres

Okay, we’re not an actual lender, but we couldn’t leave ourselves off this list. We have access to more than 90 lenders, who offer approximately 12,000 mortgages.

Remember, even if you satisfy a single criteria requirement, you’ll still be required to satisfy a number of other elements.

Using the services of a mortgage broker such as us can save a great deal of time. It will hopefully enable your application to be presented in the most favourable light possible. This will give you the best possible chance of approval and obtaining a competitive deal.

Consequently, you can obtain the scheme that best meets your needs. This ultimately ensures that you feel as though you have arranged your mortgage with the best UK mortgage lender.

Get in touch today to answer any other questions you may have.