Mortgage For Nurses

What is a nurse mortgage?

There isn’t a specific nurse mortgage, a nurse will apply for the same mortgage products as anyone else. 

Does a nurse mortgage differ from a regular mortgage?

No, the main consideration is that nurses in the UK primarily work for the NHS and their incomes can be quirky. A nurse has lots of different allowances: shift allowances, big town allowances and lots of different things on your payslips. 

With nurse mortgages, it’s more about income and how we can maximise affordability. 

What are the eligibility criteria for a nurse looking to get a mortgage?

The criteria for mortgages are the same for everyone. You need to have a good credit report, although not necessarily a good score, as we’ve covered off in another episode. Lenders need your ID, and we’ll need to assess your income and whether you have any life insurance, critical illness policies or Wills in place.

That allows us to then advise on the borrowing we can obtain. We’d look at all forms of income including, all of the shift allowances and we may ask for additional documentation to verify that. 

You’ve also got bank income – so income for the additional shifts that our heroes do. I call them heroes because nurses are absolute heroes, from firsthand experience. 

Without nurses doing bank work and additional shifts, our lovely NHS wouldn’t be stable. The good thing is we can take that bank work into account for affordability purposes.

What are the benefits for a nurse getting a mortgage compared to others?

There are no differences. We will go to the lender and get you the maximum amount of borrowing if that’s your requirement. We will do everything possible to give you advice and get you the right mortgage. 

For a nurse, it might be important to get a home or a flat near a hospital so you can avoid additional costs in travelling to work. It might help you do that extra bank shift or just to get home quickly. So there’s lots of considerations. We will do all those checks and advise throughout the whole process. 

Are there any specific lenders or institutions that offer nurse mortgages?

All lenders will offer mortgages to nurses if you’re buying a residential property. The difference will be how each lender assesses your income, your shift allowances and the additional rates nurses get, and what you get from bank work. 

That’s the only variation. Everyone’s circumstances are individual and we will sit down and understand your income structure and then apply it.

What documentation or proof is required to apply for a mortgage as a nurse?

Generally the nurses I’ve dealt with are employed through the NHS, in which case you need a standard three months’ payslips. We may go up to six months payslips to verify any additional allowances over time. Usually you need a P60 to verify your income on an annual basis and we also look at shift work or bank work. 

We’re looking for a track record of bank work and whether it’s been consistent over the last 12 months. We also ask for six months worth of bank statements so that we can avoid going back and forth. 

It’s about making sure the mortgage meets your situation. The last thing that we want to do is find a mortgage for a nurse and they’re then not able to do the bank work, which makes the mortgage unaffordable. We don’t ever want our heroes to have that stress. 

What is the typical interest rate for a nurse mortgage in the UK?

Rates change all the time. We’re recording this in October 2023 and we’re seeing the rates drop now, which is really good.

They had been scarily high in some Loan to Value brackets, but they’ve started to drop. So let us tell you the rate, let us understand your circumstances and then we will search the market and give you applicable rates and fees for your circumstances. 

How does the repayment period for a nurse mortgage compare to other mortgage options? 

It’s no different. You can choose a term up to retirement. So if you’re retiring at age 70 or 75 you can take the mortgage until then. Again we will sit down with you and look at the monthly payments. We’ll talk about the term to make sure it’s affordable for you.

Are there any limitations or restrictions on the type of property that can be purchased with a nurse mortgage?

There are no limitations or restrictions. There is a lender out there for virtually anything. If there isn’t we will be the best place to let you know. 

Obviously, if you’re doing a residential mortgage the property has got to be habitable. But we see mortgages for thatched roofs, high-rise flats in central London, new builds and a lot of quirky types of property as well. 

Can you explain how income verification works for nurses?

As I mentioned in another question, it’s all about payslips. We break down your allowances and look how consistent those allowances are. If you do bank work we will look at that as well.

We’ll do the affordability checks and that’s it, there’s nothing much more to it. If you want the maximum loan available we’ll find the most appropriate provider to let you do that.

What challenges or obstacles might nurses face when applying for a mortgage?

It might be that you want to purchase in a certain area and can’t obtain the loan you need. It may be because your overtime has not been consistent – you may have missed a week or two of overtime and that drops the averages. 

Some allowances you receive might not be acceptable by the lender – those are the challenges and obstacles you might face, but we can get over those by moving to another lender that accepts your set of circumstances. 

Your credit report is key. For example, to check if there’s been a missed payment on any credit cards in the past that could have a possible impact. We’re able to guide and advise what can be done – if it’s not now, it could be in a few months. 

Can it be better to wait?

Definitely. My first ever mortgage was for a nurse called George – it took us four years to get him into a property. We did mortgages on four properties, and on the third one, on the day of exchanging I was so happy we’d finally got George a home. But he turned around and said he couldn’t purchase this home.

There were damp issues and he didn’t have the money to rectify them. I was a bit angry after so much hard work with the mortgage, the legals and advice at every step… But he was right to do that. There were obvious damp issues and for the health of his children it was really important. 

In the end, he found a home that was larger and had more bedrooms for the same price. There were no damp issues and we got him that home. So sometimes it is best to wait, and good things will happen. 

His circumstances changed over the four years drastically – from just him and his wife to ultimately three children while applying for that mortgage and moving into their home. We’re still in touch and have just done his remortgage recently.