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If you receive income from fostering, Child Benefit, child maintenance or Guardian’s Allowance, you may be able to include it when applying for a secured loan.
Some specialist lenders accept these payments when assessing how much you can afford to borrow, even if they aren’t part of your normal employment income.
However, different lenders have different rules about which payments they accept, how much income they count and what evidence they need.
At Willows Finance, we work with lenders that consider a range of family-related income sources. We can help you establish which lenders may accept your income and prepare the right documents before applying.
Yes. Some secured loan lenders accept income relating to children and caring responsibilities as part of their affordability assessment.
Depending on the lender, this may include:
Income from fostering
Child Benefit
Child maintenance payments
Guardian’s Allowance
Relevant child-related Universal Credit payments
Adoption leave pay
Historic Child Tax Credit income, where applicable
The lender will consider how much you receive, whether the payments are regular and how long they’re expected to continue.
They’ll also look at your household expenses, existing borrowing and available property equity.
For example, a lender may accept regular child maintenance alongside your salary but want to confirm that the payments will continue for enough of the proposed loan term or if it does how will the income be replaced.
Our advisers can check how different lenders assess your particular combination of income.
Yes. Many specialist secured loan lenders consider income received from fostering.
However, the way they assess it can depend on how you’re paid and whether you’re treated as employed or self-employed.
If you’re classed as self-employed, some lenders will assess your fostering income under their normal self-employment criteria.
This may mean providing evidence of income over a specified period, such as tax calculations, tax year overviews or other documents accepted by the lender.
The lender may also want to understand how long you’ve been fostering and whether your income has been consistent.
Depending on your arrangements, a lender may ask for payslips, remittance advice or other statements showing your fostering payments.
Some lenders may also request a P60 where relevant to your employment or payment arrangements.
A minimum history of fostering income may be required, although this varies between lenders.
Not necessarily.
Fostering payments can include amounts intended to cover the child’s living expenses as well as fees or allowances paid to the foster carer.
Lenders may assess these components differently and may not treat the full amount received as income available for loan repayments.
This makes lender selection particularly important for foster carers.
At Willows Finance, we can help establish how your fostering income is classified and which lenders may consider it
Yes. Many secured loan lenders accept Child Benefit as part of their affordability assessment.
Some lenders may ask for evidence of the payments you receive, while others may automatically include an amount based on the number and ages of your eligible children.
However, lenders don’t all use the same approach.
They may consider:
The number of children you receive Child Benefit for
The children’s ages
The amount currently received
How long the payments are expected to continue
Whether the income is needed to meet household living costs
For example, if your child is approaching the age when Child Benefit is expected to end, a lender may take this into account when assessing a longer loan term.
If you’re unsure how much Child Benefit a lender will count, our advisers can check the relevant criteria.
Yes. Many secured loan lenders consider regular child maintenance payments that are supported by a court order or another formal arrangement.
For example, if you receive £400 each month in child maintenance, a lender may be willing to include some or all of that income in its affordability assessment.
However, the lender will normally want evidence that the payments are being received consistently.
You may be asked for:
A court order or other formal maintenance agreement
Recent bank statements showing payments received
Evidence of the agreed payment amount
Information about how long the payments are expected to continue
The ages of your children may also affect the assessment, particularly if the payments are expected to stop during the proposed loan term.
Our advisers can check which lenders accept court-ordered maintenance and what supporting evidence they require.
Yes. Some secured loan lenders accept child maintenance payments made through a private or informal arrangement. A court order isn’t always essential, although lenders may require stronger evidence that the payments are regular and reliable.
For example, you may receive monthly maintenance directly from your child’s other parent under a family-based agreement. A lender may ask for bank statements covering a specified period to confirm that the payments have been received consistently.
Some lenders may also want written confirmation of the arrangement or other supporting evidence. Not every lender accepts informal maintenance, and some may apply stricter conditions than they do for court-ordered payments.
If your child maintenance is paid privately, tell us how long you’ve been receiving it and whether the amount is consistent. We can check which lenders may consider it.
Yes. The age of your children can affect how much child-related income a lender is prepared to use.This is because some payments only continue while a child meets certain eligibility conditions.
For example, Child Benefit can continue beyond age 16 in qualifying education or training, subject to the relevant rules. Child maintenance arrangements can also have different end dates depending on the agreement and circumstances.
If the income is expected to end before the secured loan is repaid, a lender may reduce the amount it counts or assess whether the repayments will remain affordable without it.
Different lenders approach this differently. We can help identify lenders whose criteria may suit your children’s ages and the expected duration of the payments.
Yes. Some secured loan lenders accept Guardian’s Allowance as income.Guardian’s Allowance is a tax-free benefit available to eligible people bringing up a child whose parents have died, or where specific other eligibility conditions are met.
If you receive Guardian’s Allowance, the lender may ask for your current award letter and evidence of the payments.
They may also consider how long the allowance is expected to continue. If you receive Guardian’s Allowance alongside Child Benefit, employment income or other benefits, some lenders may be able to assess these income sources together.
At Willows Finance, we can check which lenders accept Guardian’s Allowance and what evidence you’ll need.
Yes, potentially. Some secured loan lenders consider applicants who are currently on adoption leave.
The lender may assess your current adoption pay, your normal employment income and your expected earnings when you return to work.
For example, you might normally earn £35,000 a year but be receiving reduced pay while on adoption leave.
Some lenders may be willing to assess your usual salary if you can provide suitable evidence of your employment and planned return to work.
Depending on the lender, you may be asked for:
Recent payslips
Evidence of your normal salary
Confirmation of your adoption leave arrangements
Your expected return-to-work date
Details of any changes to your working hours or income
The lender may also consider childcare costs and other household commitments after your return to work.You don’t necessarily need to wait until adoption leave ends before exploring your options.
Our advisers can check which lenders may consider your application and whether they can use your normal employment income.
Potentially, although the available options may be more limited. Some specialist lenders consider applications where income comes primarily or entirely from benefits, maintenance or fostering.
However, they may apply additional conditions depending on the income source. For example, a lender may be more willing to consider established fostering income than maintenance payments with a short remaining payment period.
The lender will need to be satisfied that the income is acceptable, reliable and sufficient to support the repayments. It will also consider your household expenses, credit history and available equity.
If child-related payments are your only income, our advisers can check whether any suitable specialist lenders may consider your application.
Yes. Some lenders can consider several income sources together. For example, you may receive a salary, Child Benefit and regular child maintenance.
Depending on the lender, some or all of these payments may be included when assessing affordability.
This can be particularly useful where your employment income alone doesn’t fully reflect the money regularly coming into your household.
However, lenders will also consider household spending, including costs associated with children and caring responsibilities.
If you receive several types of income, we can help establish which lenders may accept the combination.
The exact requirements depend on the income source and the lender.
You may need:
Child Benefit award details or payment evidence
Recent Universal Credit statements
Court orders or maintenance agreements
Bank statements showing regular child maintenance
Fostering remittance advice or payment statements
Tax calculations and tax year overviews for self-employed fostering income
Guardian’s Allowance award letters
Employment and adoption leave documents, where applicable
Some lenders may also request evidence of how long particular payments are expected to continue. You won’t necessarily need all these documents.
Our advisers can help establish what the lender requires for your circumstances.
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The amount available depends on how much of your income a lender accepts and whether you can afford the proposed repayments.
Lenders will normally consider:
Your accepted income from employment, fostering, benefits or maintenance
How long that income is expected to continue
Your household living costs
Existing mortgage and credit commitments
Your property’s value
The amount of equity available
Your credit history
For example, two applicants receiving the same amount of child maintenance may qualify for different loan amounts if one has a larger mortgage or higher household outgoings.
A lender accepting a particular income source doesn’t mean it will necessarily include the full amount.
We can help you understand which lenders may offer suitable borrowing based on your overall circumstances.
If you receive income from fostering, Child Benefit, child maintenance, Guardian’s Allowance or adoption leave, you may still be eligible for a secured loan.
At Willows Finance, we work with lenders that consider different family-related income sources, including some that accept informal maintenance payments or assess self-employed fostering income.
Our advisers can help establish which lenders may accept your income and what documents you’ll need.
Receive fostering payments, child maintenance or benefits? Tell us which income sources you receive so we can check the relevant lender criteria.
Request a free, no-obligation quote or call 01656 766 158 to speak with one of our experienced advisers.
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At Willows Finance we ensure your personal information is kept secure and confidential.
PRIVACY OF YOUR INFORMATION
At Willows Finance Ltd, we appreciate that your privacy is extremely important to you. With this in mind, we have put in place a number of measures to ensure that any personal details we obtain from you as a result of visiting this website is processed and maintained in accordance with accepted principles of good information handling and also in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988.
This statement provides you with details of the type of information we may hold about you, how we obtain and use information and how we protect your privacy.
Willows Finance Limited
Brocastle, Bridgend, CF35 5AS
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Firm Reference Number: 670052
Company Number: 06678545 (Registered in England and Wales)
This document explains the services we provide, the range of lenders and products we consider, how mortgage advice may be provided, and how Willows Finance may be paid. Please read it carefully before proceeding with an application.
If you need clarification about any part of this document, please contact us on 01656 766158.
Willows Finance arranges first and second charge mortgage products. Depending on the circumstances of the application, these may include:
We also arrange both regulated and unregulated bridging finance.
Not every product will be suitable or available to every customer. The products considered will depend on your circumstances, borrowing requirements, purpose of the borrowing, property, intended use of the property and the relevant lender criteria.
Depending on your circumstances, Willows Finance may:
If you are looking to increase borrowing secured on a property which already has a regulated mortgage, there may be different ways of raising the additional funds. Depending on your circumstances, these may include:
Where applicable, we will make you aware of these alternatives before proceeding. The options we are able to assess or advise on will depend on the service being provided and the lenders available to us.
The regulatory status of a mortgage or bridging loan depends on the circumstances of the transaction, including the property, how it is or will be occupied, the purpose of the borrowing and the customer’s circumstances.
Our business includes:
We will identify the regulatory status applicable to your application and explain the service and protections that apply. The protections available to you can differ depending on the type of mortgage or loan.
The range of lenders and products we consider depends on the type of finance you require.
We offer a comprehensive range of second charge mortgages from across the relevant market using a representative panel of lenders. We review our panel regularly to ensure that it remains sufficiently broad and representative. We do not consider products that are only available by applying directly to a lender.
We only offer first charge mortgages from a limited panel of 13 lenders. We consider the first charge mortgage products made available to us by Kensington Mortgages, The Mortgage Works, Aldermore, United Trust Bank (UTB), Together, Masthaven, West One, Norton, Bluestone, Vida, Pepper Money, Mansfield Building Society and Nationwide Building Society.
We do not offer every first charge mortgage available from across the market.
We consider products from a range of lenders available to Willows Finance for the relevant transaction.
Consumer Buy-to-Let and unregulated Buy-to-Let applications are considered within the relevant first charge, second charge or bridging route, depending on the structure of the transaction.
We do not provide a whole-of-market service and do not claim to consider every mortgage or secured finance product available in the UK. Our assessment is based on the lenders and products available through our lender and distribution arrangements.
Where the applicable regulatory rules require us to identify the lenders whose products we offer, the relevant lender list will be provided to you in a durable medium as part of the initial disclosure for your application. A lender list is also available on request where applicable.
The service provided will depend on the lender, product and application route identified for your circumstances.
Where Willows Finance provides the mortgage advice, we provide an advised mortgage broking service. We will obtain information about your needs and circumstances, assess the lending options available within the scope of our service and, where appropriate, make a mortgage recommendation.
We will make it clear where Willows Finance provides the mortgage advice and recommendation.
We may also provide a packaging service. This is a non-advised administrative service under which we may collect information and supporting documents, complete administrative checks, liaise with the relevant parties and submit or progress an application.
When we provide a packaging service, we do not assess the suitability of the mortgage, provide mortgage advice or make a personal recommendation. Any regulated mortgage advice or recommendation will be provided by the appropriately authorised intermediary responsible for advising you.
Our packaging service is not a regulated advisory service. However, the mortgage itself and any arranging activity connected with it may still be regulated and subject to the applicable regulatory requirements. We will explain the nature and regulatory status of the service we are providing before you proceed.
For some applications, particularly certain second charge mortgage applications, our sourcing exercise may identify a route where the subsequent mortgage advice is provided by another regulated mortgage intermediary.
In these cases, the Willows Finance service may include:
After the introduction, the receiving intermediary may take over the detailed application, advice and recommendation process. We will make it clear where this type of referral arrangement applies.
Where our sourcing process identifies Evolution Money Limited as an appropriate route and we introduce your application to Evolution Money, Willows Finance will not provide the regulated mortgage advice or make the final mortgage recommendation in relation to the Evolution mortgage.
Following the introduction, Evolution Money Limited will take over the detailed application and advisory process. Evolution Money will assess your needs and circumstances and will be responsible for any regulated mortgage advice and recommendation it provides in relation to the Evolution mortgage.
Willows Finance remains responsible for the service it provides before and in connection with the referral, including its initial assessment, sourcing and introduction activity.
If you are experiencing financial difficulty, or if you are considering borrowing to consolidate existing debts, free and impartial debt advice is available from MoneyHelper and other free debt-advice organisation.
MoneyHelper: www.moneyhelper.org.uk
You should consider obtaining free debt advice if you are unsure whether further borrowing or debt consolidation is right for you.
We process your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Where we introduce you to a lender or another intermediary, that organisation will process your information in accordance with its own privacy information.
Willows Finance Privacy Policy: willowsfinance.co.uk/privacy-cookie-policy/
The way Willows Finance is paid depends on the lender, product and application route. We may receive a fee paid by you, commission paid by a lender or another third party, or a combination of these. We will explain the basis on which we will be remunerated in connection with your application.
Where Willows Finance off an advised service our fees are split into two parts. A fee for the advice you receive and a fee for the processing of the application to completion. Both of these fees can be added to the loan rather than paid upfront or you have the option of paying them in advance. We do not arrange loans below £10,000.
For the advice the fee is as follows;
For a first charge mortgage, our advice fee is 5% of the amount borrowed, subject to a minimum fee of £625 and a maximum fee of £1,250.
For a second charge mortgage, our advice fee is 5% of the amount borrowed, subject to a minimum fee of £625 and a maximum fee of £1,750.
For a first charge mortgage, our processing fee is 5% of the amount borrowed, subject to a minimum fee of £625 and a maximum fee of £1,250.
For a second charge mortgage, our processing fee is 5% of the amount borrowed, subject to a minimum fee of £625 and a maximum fee of £1,750.
| Service | First charge | Second charge |
|---|---|---|
| Advice fee | 5%, min £625, max £1,250 | 5%, min £625, max £1,750 |
| Processing fee | 5%, min £625, max £1,250 | 5%, min £625, max £1,750 |
On borrowing of £10,000 5% would be £500, but the minimum fee for advice and processing means that we would charge £625 for each to £1250 in total.
On borrowing £20,000 the total fees would be £2,000
On borrowing £50,000 the maximum fee means that we would charge a total of £2500 for a 1st charge mortgage and £3500 for a 2nd charge mortgage.
If your mortgage or loan completes following an introduction made by Willows Finance, we will receive commission from the lender or another third party in the distribution chain unless we tell you otherwise. Different lenders may pay different amounts and may use different commission models.
Commission models may include:
The availability or amount of commission does not determine which lender we consider appropriate for your circumstances. Where applicable, we will tell you that commission will be received.
For an MCD regulated mortgage (a mortgage within the Mortgage Credit Directive rules), where the exact amount of commission is not known at the time of the initial disclosure, we will tell you that the actual amount will be disclosed later in the ESIS. Where applicable and on request, we will also provide information about how commission levels vary between lenders offering the mortgage being considered.
Where we introduce you to Evolution Money, the commercial arrangement is different from a broker fee charged directly by Willows Finance.
Under the current Evolution arrangement, Evolution Lending charges a Product Fee equal to 10% of the net loan advance, subject to a maximum of £5,000. If the mortgage completes, Evolution pays the corresponding amount to Willows Finance as commission/remuneration for the sourcing, distribution and introduction service.
The amount of the product fee and the amount of remuneration payable to Willows Finance will be disclosed to you in the relevant mortgage documentation before completion.
Example: on a £10,000 net advance, a 10% Product Fee would be £1,000. The actual Product Fee and the amount of commission payable to Willows Finance will be set out in the relevant Evolution mortgage documentation before completion.
If you choose to add a Product Fee or other fee to your mortgage, interest will be charged on that amount while it remains outstanding, increasing the total amount you repay.
Where a Willows Finance fee is payable only on completion, it will not become payable if the mortgage does not complete. Any fee payable before completion, third-party costs and the circumstances in which a fee is refundable or non-refundable will be explained where applicable.
Fees which have become payable following completion are generally non-refundable unless the relevant contractual terms, applicable law or regulatory redress require otherwise.
Before you become bound by a regulated mortgage, you will receive the relevant mortgage illustration or European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS) and the lender’s offer documentation as applicable.
These documents contain important information about the proposed mortgage, which may include:
Please read these documents carefully. If anything is unclear or does not reflect your understanding, contact the firm responsible for the advice or recommendation before proceeding.
You may tell us that you no longer wish to proceed with an application before completion. Whether any third-party cost is payable or refundable will depend on its own terms.
For an MCD regulated mortgage (a mortgage within the Mortgage Credit Directive rules), the lender will provide a binding offer with a reflection period of at least seven days. You may normally accept the offer during that reflection period if you decide to proceed.
Once a mortgage has completed, there is generally no right simply to cancel or withdraw from the mortgage. You may have a right to repay the mortgage early in accordance with its terms, and an early repayment charge may apply.
Always check the early repayment section of the ESIS and mortgage offer before completion if early repayment or regular overpayments are important to you.
If you miss or make late payments, the lender may apply charges, and your credit record may be affected. Continued failure to maintain payments may result in enforcement action and ultimately repossession of the property used as security.
If you are experiencing financial difficulty, contact your lender as soon as possible and consider obtaining free independent debt advice.
Consolidating existing debts into a mortgage can reduce monthly payments but may increase the total amount of interest you pay if the borrowing is repaid over a longer period.
Debts which are currently unsecured may become secured against your home. Extending the repayment period may mean that you pay considerably more overall even where the monthly payment is lower.
Interest rates on variable-rate mortgages can increase, which may increase monthly repayments and the total amount repaid.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR OTHER LOAN SECURED ON IT.
If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service provided by Willows Finance, please contact us:
Willows Finance Limited
Brocastle, Bridgend, CF35 5AS
Telephone: 01656 766158
Email: [email protected]
We will investigate your complaint in accordance with our complaints procedure. If you remain dissatisfied with our final response, or in other circumstances where you are eligible to do so, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Financial Ombudsman Service: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Where another regulated intermediary has provided the mortgage advice or recommendation, complaints about that firm’s advice should normally also be raised with that firm. You can still complain to Willows Finance about the service provided by Willows Finance.
The Financial Ombudsman Service can generally consider complaints about regulated or otherwise covered activities, including certain activities that are ancillary to them. It may not be able to consider a complaint that relates solely to an unregulated product or service and has no connection with a regulated or otherwise covered activity. Whether a complaint falls within its jurisdiction will be determined by the Financial Ombudsman Service based on the individual circumstances.
Willows Finance Limited is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for eligible regulated activities. If an authorised firm is unable to meet an eligible claim, compensation may be available from the FSCS.
For protected home finance mediation, the current compensation limit is 100% of an eligible claim up to £85,000 per eligible claimant, per firm. Eligibility depends on the circumstances of the claim and the applicable FSCS rules.
FSCS protection does not generally apply to a claim arising solely from an unregulated product or service, including any packaging service that falls outside regulated home-finance mediation. Whether a claim is eligible will depend on its individual circumstances and the applicable FSCS rules.
Further information: www.fscs.org.uk
Once we have received sufficient information about your circumstances and requirements, we will carry out the relevant initial assessment and sourcing process and explain which application route applies to you.
Where Willows Finance provides the mortgage advice, we will continue through our advised mortgage process and explain any recommendations made.
Where your application is referred to another regulated intermediary, such as Evolution Money, we will explain that the receiving intermediary will take over the subsequent application and advisory process where applicable.
Please review all mortgage illustrations, ESIS documents, fee and commission disclosures, offer documents and other terms carefully before deciding whether to proceed. If anything is unclear, ask before committing to the mortgage.
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