2024 was a year of records, but we want to do better in 2025!

Last year, was an incredible year for Family Building Society, as we wrote a record amount of business and won a record number of awards too. One of those awards was a personal accolade of which I am extremely proud, as I was voted amongst the world's 100 Best Mortgage Leaders.

This acknowledgement also recognises the fantastic work of everyone at Family Building Society and their incredible support.

As I mentioned last week, with the addition of our newest BDM Georgina England, who is managing my old patch (Midlands region), I can fully focus on advancing our business strategy.

Below is a reminder of our key strengths as a business and why we’re confident 2025 will be another strong year for the Society.

Best Wishes

Darren Deacon

Head of Intermediary Sales

A flexible approach to lending

Our team of underwriters look at each case individually, so even if your client doesn't fit the conventional mould of the high street, it doesn't mean they can't get a mortgage with us.

• Later Life Lending - we lend up to the age of 95 and look at each application on its own merits. We try to build a case to lend, as opposed to discounting them if one risk factor is not up to standard

• Buy to Let (BtL) - We can offer BtL mortgages for Expat, Limited Company and Private Landlords.

Find out more

Listening to our brokers

Without brokers we simply don’t have a mortgage business, so your views are essential to us. Here’s a summary of the key changes we made in 2024;

• Fees can now be added to the loan amount

• We automated our mortgage illustration process, meaning brokers can request a multi-product illustration, and will now get a response within an hour - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week*

• Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) - Broadened criteria for our JBSP mortgage, so the wider family can help one another with affordability

• Enhanced affordability calculator - Allows JBSP arrangements.

Important reminder - Stamp Duty thresholds

With Stamp Duty thresholds reverting back to their 2022 levels on Tuesday 1 April, it’s really important for those customers who currently have a mortgage application with us, that we have all the information we need to give your client the best chance of completing before this date.

As a reminder, the current Stamp Duty rates are:

Proportion of property value	Rate for main residence
Up to £250,000	0%
£250,001 to £925,000	5%
£925,001 to £1.5 million	10%
Over £1.5 million	12%

The figures are based on a standard residential purchase of a freehold property, which is to be a main residence for an UK resident.

From 1 April 2025, the Stamp Duty rates will be:

Proportion of property value	Rate for main residence
Up to £125,000	0%
£125,001 to £250,000	2%
£250,001 to £925,000	5%
£925,001 to £1.5 million	10%
over £1.5 million	12%

We need your votes

The nomination window for the What Mortgage Awards 2025 is now open, and we'd really appreciate it if you could take 2 minutes to click on the link and nominate us.

Click here to vote

Affordability Calculator

Find out how much your residential client may be able to borrow. To see affordability for a Buy to Let client, use our Buy to Let calculator

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Business Development Manager