Furness Building Society has announced cuts to its fixed-rate mortgages for both residential and buy-to-let properties.

The biggest drops are on two and five-year fixed-rate deals:

• Two-year fix: Down by 0.15% to 5.39%
• Five-year fix: Down by 0.15% to 4.89%

These deals are available for loans up to 80% of the property value. So, for example, if you’re buying a £200,000 home, you’ll need a deposit of at least £40,000 to qualify.

What about fees and incentives?

There is a £999 fee for these mortgages, which you can either pay upfront or add to your loan. However, there’s good news for those moving home, with a £250 cashback on offer.

Good news for the self-employed and landlords

Furness Building Society says it welcomes applications from self-employed people and those with complex incomes. This is a welcome change in a market where these borrowers often struggle to get approved for a mortgage.

Landlords haven’t been forgotten either. The building society is offering buy-to-let mortgages starting from 4.99% for a two-year fix. You can borrow up to 80% of the property value for standard buy-to-lets and 75% for holiday lets.

What are the criteria?

Furness says it will assess each application individually, looking at the borrower’s overall financial circumstances. For landlords, the rental income must be at least 125% of the initial interest payments.

Commenting on the new rates, Jonathan Cartlidge, head of customer strategy at Furness Building Society, said: “We’re delighted to launch this new range of products to brokers across England, Scotland and Wales. We strive to remain competitive for our brokers but it’s also important to remember that we do not use credit scoring and each and every case is looked at individually by an experienced underwriter. By working in this way, we are able to look at complex cases and apply flexibility in our decision making.”