Published 13 January 2016 · Last reviewed 25 February 2017 · Older article — see current rates
If you’re looking to get a mortgage for a studio flat you will soon find out that it is not straight forward.
Getting a Mortgage for a studio flat are harder to obtain than your average UK mortgage as the choice of lender is much lower. Why is the case? Well the general principle of a mortgage is a lower interest rate in return for the lender taking the property as security should you not pay the mortgage back. All lenders will therefore want to make sure the property that is being put up for security is a worthy asset and easily saleable should they have to repossess.
The good news is that lenders have their own lending strategies and policies, and will use the type of security as one of their differentiators to win business, just like some compete on rate.
The lenders that consider studio flats normally have a minimum floor space requirement of 30 square metres. There are a smaller number of lenders that will consider tinier dwellings but will place greater emphasis on their surveyors to comment on the re-saleability potential. If the latter is the case then a mortgage product with a ‘free valuation’ might be your best option to protect your outlay until you have greater certainty that the provider will lend.
Furthermore, if you are after purchasing a buy to let studio flat or have had adverse credit problems then the lender choice is very small.