Accord mortgages are one of the UK’s larger mortgage lenders (people who give out mortgages). However, there’s a bit of a twist, they’re actually part of the Yorkshire Building Society Group (YBS), so part of a larger banking company.

Although they can get you a 'standard' mortgage, they have a big focus on specialist mortgages – so mortgages for those who might need a bit more help, such as borrowing more than you otherwise could, mortgages for self-employed people (such as contractors), helping people with bad credit and mortgages for rental properties (buy-to-let). We’ll cover this in more detail later.

If you need a specialist mortgage, or even a standard mortgage, it’s worth checking out Tembo¹. We’ve rated them 5 stars, you’ll get 50% off their standard fee with Nuts About Money.

They also don’t give mortgages directly to customers, they only work with mortgage brokers (technically called intermediary-only). 

A mortgage broker is someone who helps you find the best mortgage for you, and handle all the paperwork to go with it. We call them life-savers, as they’ll search every mortgage out there to find you the very best deal which could potentially save you £100s per month.

The only rule with mortgage brokers is to use one that can search every deal out there, which is called the whole market (some brokers unfortunately can’t).

We recommend using a mortgage broker anyway, but if you’re set on getting a mortgage with Accord Mortgages, you’ll need to use one anyway.

Not sure which one to use? We’ve reviewed the best mortgage brokers and our recommendation is Tembo¹, you can sign up online, and it’s super simple to do. Their friendly team will help answer any questions you might have. You can also read our Tembo review.

And finally, the great thing about Accord Mortgages is they are flexible with their underwriting process too (so less strict rules like other mortgage lenders have), and they’ll work with you (through the broker) to help you get a mortgage. They call this their ‘common sense approach to mortgages’.

Let’s dive into a bit more detail to see if they’re right for you.

More about Accord Mortgages

Types of mortgages

Accord Mortgages offer a huge range of mortgages to help a wide range of customers:

• Residential mortgages (e.g. a standard home)
• Buy-to-let mortgages (for renting a property out, both individual and through a limited company)
• Help-to-buy (government scheme to help buy your first home)
• Mortgages for self-employed people (e.g. contractors and freelancers)
• Mortgages for those with poor credit (but not CCJs or payment defaults)

They can also help with switching your current mortgage to a new deal (called remortgaging).

Maximum mortgage term

With Accord Mortgages you can get a mortgage for up to 40 years. Which is great. However, you need to have paid the mortgage off by the time you turn 80 years old. And bear in mind a longer mortgage term will mean paying more interest overall. (However you can remortgage in the future to a lower mortgage term.)

Mortgage overpayments

With Accord Mortgages, you’ll be able to make overpayments of up to 10% each year. This is pretty good, and in-line with most mortgages. 

Making overpayments means you pay more than you actually have agreed to, and this extra cash goes to reducing your outstanding mortgage balance, which will save you a lot of cash in the future.

How much can you borrow with Accord Mortgages?

Accord Mortgages can let you borrow more than most other lenders which is great. However, there’s a few rules to qualify for this.

If you have a higher income, over £70,000 per year, you might be able to borrow up to 5.5x your yearly income. That’s a lot – normally mortgage lenders won’t lend more than 4.5x your yearly income.

How much you can borrow for a mortgage is also determined by your loan-to-value (LTV). This is how much deposit (or equity) you have vs how much the property is worth. For instance, if you have a deposit of £20,000 and the house you want to buy is £100,000, you’ll need to borrow £80,000 with a mortgage, and so your mortgage is 80% LTV.

Here’s how much you can borrow at certain LTV brackets:

The most you can borrow overall is £5,000,000 (and you’ll need to earn a massive amount of money to get this!). That’s even if your LTV is lower than 75%. 

What are the interest rates?

Mortgage interest rates are changing all the time – it’s a bit crazy out there currently! With Accord Mortgages the interest rates are typically in-line with the market, however we suggest speaking to your mortgage broker to find out the current interest rates. 

If you use a whole-of-market broker like Tembo¹ they'll check every mortgage available for you, and find the best deal for you.

We’ve also reviewed all the best online mortgage brokers if you want to view all your options.

What fees do Accord Mortgages charge?

With all mortgages, there’s often fees on top of the interest rate. And with Accord Mortgages, these depend on which mortgage you’re getting and the property itself.

The main fees are:

• Arrangement fee: this is a fee to get the mortgage itself. This can range from £0 to £5,000. If you’re getting a more regular mortgage, such as a residential mortgage on a standard home, this is likely to be either £0 to £999. You can add this fee to the mortgage itself too, meaning you don't need to pay this upfront.
• Valuation fee: this is a fee to value the property to make sure they agree the value aligns with the mortgage. This can sometimes be free, but is often anywhere up to £500.

Depending on which mortgage you’re getting, there also might be special offers such as cashback – it all depends on when you’re looking to get the mortgage.

Plus, there might be other fees too in general, such as your own survey to make sure the property is in good condition, legal fees, and a fee to your mortgage broker.

By the way, Habito can sort the mortgage and all the legal work and surveys too. They’re the only place who do this, and it can save you a lot of time and stress (and potentially cash too). Learn more on the Habito website¹.

Is Accord Mortgages safe?

Yep! Getting a mortgage with Accord Mortgages is perfectly safe.

They’re part of the Yorkshire Building Society Group, which is a large building society in the UK (essentially a bank). Plus, they are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which means they have been reviewed and are approved to give out mortgages.

Nuts About Money tip: if you use a mortgage broker, you’ll also get protection from the FCA if you end up on the wrong mortgage deal for you. You don’t get this if you apply directly to a mortgage lender.

Our thoughts

We like Accord Mortgages. They help people get a mortgage who otherwise might not be able to (plus help those who could).

They help people with a range of mortgage options, from slightly bad credit histories (not CCJs), freelancers and contractors, and those looking to borrow a bit more (with a high income).

The interest rates are generally good (it’s never going to be the cheapest when it’s not a simple mortgage), you can make overpayments (pay off more if you want), and get a mortgage for up to 40 years.

In general, Accord Mortgages have a good service. However, you can’t go direct, so you’ll need to use a mortgage broker – and a decent mortgage broker will find the best deal for you, from all the mortgage lenders out there anyway, so you don’t need to specifically ask for Accord Mortgages.

Not sure where to find the best mortgage brokers? Our top choice is Tembo¹, you could be chatting to an expert it just 10 minutes.