Kensington expands range

Customers who have had CCJs or defaults registered to their name in the past two years now have the choice of two- and three-year fixed rate deals up to 70% LTV.

Kensington will consider applicants who have had up to two CCJs totalling a maximum of £750 as long as they have been satisfied for more than six months.

Customers are also allowed two unsecured defaults in the past two years, as long as there have been none in the past six months.

The products have been introduced to meet the demand of a growing number of credit-worthy borrowers who have experienced a financial blip during the recession, found their feet again, but are prevented from getting a mortgage because their circumstances do not meet the rigid criteria required by the automated credit scoring of many lenders.

The new products, which are on offer from 5.99%, will be available to even more intermediaries as Kensington has extended its distribution to all members of the L&G Mortgage Club in addition to its existing distributors, which include appointed representatives of Openwork, Pink Home Loans, Personal Touch Financial Services, Mortgage Intelligence and Mortgage Next.

And Kensington has further plans to open up its distribution to more intermediaries in the near future.

Charles Morley, head of sales and product development at Kensington, said: "We've all seen evidence of people struggling to meet all of their credit commitments during this recession.

"But even if they get back on their feet they will find it very hard to get a mortgage because of the restrictive credit scoring used by many lenders.

"Kensington can help these borrowers because we make a decision on the customer, not just their credit score and this means we can introduce products like these to help intermediaries help their clients out of recession.

"There is a lot of talk about new lenders, but actions speak louder than words.

"These products are available now, and they are available to a huge number of intermediaries - both directly authorised and appointed representatives.

"Kensington is serious about supporting the intermediary market into sustainable recovery and brokers can expect more evidence to demonstrate our commitment, with new products, distributors and service enhancements being launched in the coming months."