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Virgin Money Mortgage Review: Pros, Cons & Features
Virgin Money offers a range of mortgage options for remortgaging, first-time buyers, homemovers and buy-to-let. Find out more in our Virgin Money mortgage review.
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Virgin Money mortgages: at a glance
Virgin Money offers capital repayment and interest-only mortgages, plus a range of mortgages that include fixed-rate and tracker-rate options. Your mortgage term can be set to a maximum of 40 years. It’s possible to apply for a Virgin mortgage online or over the phone, with support for mortgage customers available through the same places.
Depending on the type of Virgin Money mortgage you have, it may be possible to overpay by up to 10% of your outstanding mortgage balance each year before an early repayment charge is payable, or if you have a flexible mortgage there may be no limits on overpayments at all, as long as you don’t pay off your mortgage in full.
Virgin Money Mortgages
5 to 40 years
No minimum
Capital & Interest; and Interest Only
Yes
No
This mortgage provider is available via our partner, London & Country Mortgages.
Think carefully before taking out any mortgage. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments.
This is our review of a lender and not the products, interest rates, fees or deal terms they offer. Many lenders also offer preferential products exclusively via brokers and intermediaries. This review does not constitute advice or recommendation.
Virgin Money mortgage pros & cons
Pros
- Capital repayment and interest-only mortgages are available.
- Virgin Money offers mortgages at 85% LTV and over.
- There is no set minimum mortgage amount.
Cons
- There is a narrower range of mortgage terms compared to some other lenders we’ve reviewed.
- Virgin Money provides fewer customer support options than some lenders we’ve reviewed.
Virgin Money mortgage overview
Virgin Money is the seventh largest mortgage lender in the UK and offers mortgages to first-time buyers, home movers and those looking to remortgage. It also offers buy-to-let mortgages to landlords.
Virgin Money mortgages are available for terms of between five and 40 years, and there is no specified minimum amount that you need to borrow. Customer support is available online, over the phone, and via mobile app.
| Product options | Capital repayment Interest-only Fixed rate Tracker 85% loan-to-value or higher Green |
| Term length | 5 – 40 years |
| Minimum loan size | No minimum |
| Allows overpayments | Yes |
| Mortgages are portable | Yes |
| Ways to apply | Online, phone, broker |
| Customer service contact options | Online, phone, mobile app |
| Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 60% (as at 11 November 2024) |
Where Virgin Money mortgages stand out
Low minimum mortgage amount
If you’re looking for a smaller mortgage, Virgin Money does not specify a minimum amount that you need to take out to be eligible for its mortgages. Some other lenders we’ve reviewed set minimum mortgage amounts as high as £50,000.
Part and part mortgages are available
If you want a repayment basis that sits somewhere between capital repayment and interest-only, Virgin offers part and part mortgages, which are a combination of both options. However, you’ll need a repayment strategy in place for paying back any of your original loan amount that hasn’t been repaid during the mortgage term.
Where Virgin Money mortgages fall short
Narrow range of mortgage terms
The maximum mortgage term of 40 years that Virgin allows is on a par with other lenders we’ve reviewed, but the minimum term of five years is longer than some other lenders allow.
Fewer product options than some
If you’re looking for a very specific type or mortgage, Virgin Money doesn’t offer family or springboard mortgages, discount mortgages or offset mortgages.
Access to customer support
Compared with some other lenders, Virgin Money customer support options are a little lacking. If you don’t get a satisfactory response from the automated chat system online, you will only be transferred to a real person if you’re an existing customer and logged in to your account. It’s also not possible to get mortgage advice in a Virgin Money branch.
» MORE: Best mortgage lenders
Take a look at some of the other mortgage providers we review.
What types of mortgages does Virgin Money offer?
Virgin Money first-time buyer mortgages
Virgin Money offers first-time buyer mortgages up to 95% loan-to-value (LTV), meaning that you may be able to get a mortgage with a 5% deposit. Fixed-rate and tracker options are both available if you are taking your first step onto the property ladder.
Virgin Money remortgages
If you’re looking to remortgage, Virgin offers fixed-rate and tracker remortgage deals up to 95% LTV, which include free valuation and legal fees.
Virgin Money buy-to-let mortgages
Virgin Money buy-to-let mortgages are generally available to a maximum 80% LTV, or up to a maximum 75% LTV if you are a portfolio landlord who has four or more mortgaged rental properties.
» MORE: See current mortgage rates
Virgin Money mortgage features
Repayment options
Virgin Money mortgages are available on a capital repayment and an interest-only basis. You may also be able to pay part of your mortgage as repayment and the other part as interest only, combining both.
With a repayment mortgage, your monthly repayments go towards paying off your interest and some of the original mortgage amount, or capital, you borrowed. If you make every repayment on time and in full, your entire debt should be cleared by the end of your mortgage term.
Interest-only mortgages are different in that your monthly repayments pay off the interest that you’re charged each month but don’t repay any of the original loan amount. Instead, you’ll need a repayment strategy in place when taking out the mortgage that aims to pay back your loan in full when your mortgage term ends. Typically this may be an endowment plan or some other form of investment. Note that interest-only mortgages are generally more difficult to obtain than capital repayment mortgages and often come with lower LTV limits. For a residential Virgin Money interest-only mortgage the maximum LTV is 75%.
» MORE: Interest-only vs. repayment mortgages
Mortgage rates
Virgin Money offers fixed-rate and tracker rate mortgages. With a fixed-rate mortgage the interest rate you pay is fixed for a set period – typically this will be two, five or maybe 10 years. This gives you peace of mind that your monthly repayments will not change.
When your deal ends, you may decide to remortgage to a new deal or, if you do nothing, you’ll move onto Virgin’s standard variable rate (SVR). This can rise or fall and may be higher than the rate you’ve been paying.
With a tracker mortgage, the mortgage rate you pay, and your monthly repayments, also have the potential to rise and fall. The Virgin Money tracker mortgage follows movements in the Bank of England base rate, so it’s vital to work out whether you could still afford your monthly repayments if rates were to go up.
» MORE: See Virgin Money mortgage rates
Loan-to-value ratios
Virgin Money offers residential capital repayment mortgages to 95% LTV, which means there are mortgage options available if you have a 5% deposit. If you’re looking at residential interest-only mortgages, these have a maximum LTV of 75%.
» MORE: Why your LTV is important for a mortgage
Mortgage offers
A mortgage offer from Virgin Money is usually valid for six months. During this period, the mortgage rate you’ve been offered should not change.
Making overpayments
If you have an Everyday Mortgage from Virgin Money, you can currently overpay a maximum of 10% of your outstanding mortgage balance each calendar year without having to pay an early repayment charge. If you have a Fully Flexible Mortgage, at present unlimited overpayments are allowed without charge, provided you don’t pay off the mortgage in full.
» MORE: Mortgage overpayment calculator
Paying off your mortgage early
If you’re thinking of paying off your mortgage early, you’ll need to request a redemption statement from Virgin Money. This will confirm everything you need to pay, including any charges.
Porting your mortgage
If you’re moving home and want to take the Virgin Money mortgage you already have with you, you can ask Virgin to port your mortgage. If there are any charges to pay, Virgin should make you aware when you contact them.
Customer support
You can contact Virgin Money customer support online or over the phone. There is a chat option on the lender’s website where there are several automated responses to common queries. If you can’t find the answer you want, and you’re signed up to use internet or mobile banking, you can log in and chat with a real person. If you’re not signed up to either, or an existing customer, you’ll need to give Virgin a call.
Mortgage calculators
Virgin has a handful of mortgage calculators on its website including options to help you work out how much you may be able to afford on mortgage repayments, the amount you may be able to borrow, and an overpayment calculator.
» MORE: Our mortgage calculators
Customer ratings
Virgin Money has been awarded a customer experience rating of 60% by Fairer Finance for mortgages, which means it ranks 14th out of the 22 lenders it reviewed. The ratings are a reflection of how happy borrowers are with the lender, customer trust in a brand, and the lender’s responses to complaints. How clearly they explain their products and the simplicity of the documents provided to customers are also assessed.
This information from Fairer Finance was correct as of 11 November 2024.
» MORE: Do I need mortgage advice?
Virgin Money Mortgage FAQs
Virgin Money receives an overall customer experience rating of 60% from Fairer Finance for mortgages, placing it 14th out of the 22 lenders that were assessed overall. As at 11 November 2024, the top-rated lender, Nationwide, received a rating of 73%.
Virgin Money is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and authorised by the PRA.
This is our review of a lender and not the products, interest rates, fees or deal terms they offer. Many lenders also offer preferential products exclusively via brokers and intermediaries. This review does not constitute advice or recommendation.
Review methodology
At NerdWallet UK, we base our reviews and our ‘Best’ pages on the results of surveys we undertook about what was important to people who use these products. This allows us to look at products impartially of any commercial arrangements we have and fairly rate the products on the same set of criteria.
Best means our ‘Best’ and is based only on what products we have aligned to our surveys, which form the basis of our reviews and ratings. This means that there will be other products on the market that we have not included in our ‘Best’ pages. Best does not mean it’s best for you, nor does it mean the ‘cheapest’.
Our reviews may display lenders’ rates. This additional information has not been included in our evaluations but is still very important when choosing a product. Rates offered can depend on circumstances, amount and term. Always check details before proceeding with any financial product.
Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible, but there will be products not included on the market. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability for your financial circumstances.
While we try to provide you with accurate information, the providers can change the terms of their products at any time, therefore it is advisable to check the terms before you proceed.
You can view our full review methodology here.