Banks cap property loans

Some banks have had to cap mortgages at £500,000 due to surveyors being unable to make physical appraisals during the COVID-19 lockdown. Sources at lenders said that professional indemnity insurance does not cover big loans for expensive homes they have not been to in person. Only simple online assessments of properties can be done at the moment and this has led banks to impose strict price limits during the lockdown. Virgin Money and Clydesdale have a property price ceiling of £500,000 while Precise Mortgages and Kent Reliance capped mortgage lending at £600,000. Aldermore's limit is £750,000 outside the M25 motorway and up to £1m within it. NatWest has a more generous ceiling of £3m.

The Sunday Times (26/04/2020)