Newbury Building Society has highlighted a key service that can benefit customers by splitting mortgages and combine them in a joint borrower, sole proprietor basis.
The building society, which recently earned customer satisfaction plaudits after detailed survey, has evidenced two case studies to show the flexibility available with the split mortgages.
The first looks at how a dad, who is 59 and planning to retire at 75, can benefit. He is supporting his son's purchase by being a joint borrower because the son's income doesn't support the loan required. Ownership of the of the property will be in the son's sole name. We split the loan so the part of the mortgage the son qualifies for is over a 35 year term, and the excess amount that dad is helping with is on a 16-year term which will finish when dad retires.
In the second case study, the attention switches to Bob, who is in his late 50s and buying a new home. A Newbury Building Society spokesman explains: "We arranged to split his loan -- part on a capital repayment basis to finish when he retires and the remainder will be on an interest-only basis, which will be paid by his pension income until the age of 80. Bob plans to downsize before he reaches the end of the term."
Meanwhile, Newbury Building Society recently attained a Customer Satisfaction Index of 89.1 – 11% higher than the banks and building society average, putting it amongst the best performing organisations across the country.
The survey was undertaken earlier this year by the Institute of Customer Service, an independent professional membership body dedicated to customer service.
Newbury also recorded a "net promoter score" -- an indicator of how many customers would recommend the society to their friends and family -- of 65%, which is over three times higher than the UK average.
Areas that ranked the highest scores included: handling of enquiries, the society’s open and transparent nature, and employee helpfulness – in person and over the phone.
Roland Gardner, chief executive, said: “We are extremely pleased with the results of our first business benchmarking survey, which demonstrates our commitment to providing excellent service and putting our members at the centre of all we do.
“It will continue to be the driver behind maintaining the high level of service we provide, whilst developing the areas in which we could do more.”