Leeds Building Society to stop offering mortgages for second homes

[BreadInCaptivity]

AIBU to suggest this is a good thing?

Essentially, they have said it's not consistent with their core value and purpose in making it possible for more people to be able to buy their own home.

They are the 5th largest U.K. Building Society so this is no small thing and I wonder if others will follow.

@Eastangular2000

Not hats two homes for two families. It's not the same thing at all.

Yes but it's still two homes for one family. I have no problem with people having multiple homes, I was just flagging up that whilst some families are attacked for having two homes, other families have two homes and no one mentions it.

The big difference here is they have in effect become two separate families with one home each.

It's not really comparable to one family unit owning two or more homes.

Again, why would you see this as a positive? What if the next step is that they won't offer mortgages to single parents because it doesn't fit with their values? Would you also celebrate that?

You're massively overstretching here.

O dear.
What a shame.
Never mind.

The impact on housing stock is exactly the same.

People always claim that their issue with second homes is impact on housing stock rather than envy or plain disapproval. The impact of family breakdown on housing stock I would guess has had a greater impact than the relatively small numbers of people who have second homes.

People I know with 2nd homes have remortgaged their house to buy a second one. Or they have bought as a limited company. I agree that 2nd homes lived in a few weeks a year are an absolute blight on communities but most people who have this type of situation don't need a mortgage.

I have a holiday let mortgage but it's literally my income- I manage it, do all the cleaning etc as my job. It's not all people raking it in while they laze by a swimming pool counting their money!

Why is it not comparable? The impact on housing stock is exactly the same. You may feel that it is more justified but that is just your subjective opinion.

It’s just PR nonsense and spin. Second home mortgages are not consistent with their values and they want to help first time buyers. So how are holiday homes consistent with their values and helping first time buyers then? And why have they been merrily doling out second home mortgages for years, the housing crisis isn’t new.

I'm. Sure the BTL market will be devastated by that loss!

Not!

Clever lady.

Ahh I see what you're saying here. Very interesting point.

@Babyroobs your neighbour wouldn't have been able to get a BTL mortgage for the new property if her sister was renting from her, it's not allowed.

She's following the rules.

Not sure about this and I also agree with a pp who said it's probably because their products aren't very appealing and they see this as a good soundbite to cancel them to.
I'm not keen on building societies making political statements as it concerns me it could be the thin edge of the wedge.

What if their next move was to give mortgages to couples only if they were buying no larger than a 2 bedroom house the reasoning being because unless they had children they should leave those larger houses for families. Or no able bodied people getting a mortgage on a bungalow?

@likeminded ..........
Well, I'm in the so-called "boomer" demographic, ('though I despise that term, just as I despise the term "snowflake").
I have never had a BTL, second home, or Airbnb.
Neither did I vote for the Tories, nor Brexit, in case you're interested.
FWIW, I absolutely feel that young adults have been totally "screwed over" when it comes to housing.......and many other issues.
But I get totally fed up with being in the age range that gets blamed for all of this, as if it's ok to tar us all with the same brush, and ignore other contributing factors like government policies, national and global economics, etc, etc......
I would welcome your actual evidence that all BTLs, second homes, and Airbnbs are owned by "boomers".
The sad thing is, I agree with your anger, but pitting generations against each other, as in "divide and conquer", only serves to prolong the inequality, when all of us should be pulling together.