What type of mortgages do they offer?

Santander’s UK arms offers the following types of mortgages:

• Residential mortgages: Including exclusive products for first-time buyers and borrowers who need support from their family to purchase a home.
• Remortgages: Including deals for borrowers who are switching to Santander from another lender, and exclusive products for existing customers.
• Buy-to-let mortgages: These mortgages are only available to new Santander customers if the borrower is applying for one through a mortgage broker.

Santander’s residential mortgage product range is dominated by fixed-rate deals with 2, 3 and 5-year introductory rates periods, as well as 2-year tracker mortgages. Capital repayment and interest-only options are available.

What interest rates are available?

As a high street mortgage lender, Santander's mortgage rates are generally competative with other mainstream banks, and are lower on average than specialist lenders' ranges.

Some of their latest rates at the time of writing (October 2024) include:

• First-time buyer mortgage rates: Range between 4.14% and 6.52%
• Remortgage rates: Range between 4.13% and 5.19%
• Homemover rates: Range between 4.14% and 6.52%

Residential mortgage criteria

Below you will find a summary of the eligibility criteria for a Santander residential mortgage:

• Deposit requirements: Start at 5% of the property’s value (95% loan-to-value).
• Credit history: Some bad credit mortgage options are available. For example, Santander will consider applicants with CCJs or debt management plans if the issue was discharged 3-6 years ago, but more severe issues may trigger a rejection.
• Age: The maximum age a borrower can be upon application is 69, or 75 at the end of the application. If any part of the mortgage is interest-only, age caps are 64 and 70.
• Self-employed requirements: Self-employed applicants will need at least 2 years’ accounts to evidence their income for the affordability assessment.

Buy-to-let mortgage range

Santander’s UK buy-to-let mortgage range cannot be accessed with a mortgage broker, this is something Teito can help you with. Our brokers are buy-to-let specialists - not only do they have access to Santander deals, they can sometimes secure exclusive rates too.

Below you will find a summary of the key criteria for Santander’s buy-to-let mortgages:

• Deposit requirements start at 25%
• Available to first-time landlords
• Rental cover must be 125% for basic rate taxpayers or 140% for higher rate
• Santander don’t lend to portfolio landlords
• One applicant must have personal income of at least £25,000

Santander’s buy-to-let mortgages are fixed-rate deals with 2, 3 or 5-year initial rates periods.

How much will Santander let you borrow?

Santander caps its maximum mortgage lending at between 4.45 and 5.5 times the borrower’s annual salary. They will use the highest income multiple if it’s a remortgage without capital raising, or if the applicants’ combined income is over £100,000 and the LTV is 75% or lower.

You can use our calculator below to work out how much you could borrow within these income multiples:

Are Santander a good mortgage lender?

Santander currently holds an average rate of 1.4/5 on TrustPilot, based on over 6,700 reviews. This is, however, based on reviews of all of its products and services.

Consumer group Which? carried out an in-depth review of the mortgage market in October 2023 and ranked Santander in joint 5th place out of 22 UK lenders. The bank’s mortgage arm received an above-average customer satisfaction rating of 71%.

Pros and cons

The table below highlights some of the pros and cons of Santander as a mortgage lender to help you decide whether they are the right option for you:

Compare mortgage rates and deals from Santander

Teito offers a free service that allows you to compare Santander’s mortgage rates with deals from other lenders across the market in real time. You can choose the mortgage you want online and access expert support from one of our brokers at any point.

Follow the steps below to browse rates in real time and choose your mortgage online:

Get started here: Then select whether you are looking for a two-year fixed-rate mortgage to buy a property or for remortgage purposes.

Specify the purpose of the property: You can compare two-year fixed-rate mortgages for residential or buy-to-let purposes, as well as remortgages.

Choose your own mortgage: Finally, tell us what stage you are at in the process and you can compare rates from across the market and choose the deal you want.

After you have selected a mortgage deal, one of our mortgage brokers will check over your application before securing an agreement in principle for you. They will be on hand to offer bespoke advice, make sure you’re getting the best deal, and oversee your application.