A Q&A with Arif Kara, Business Development Manager at Family Building Society, exploring some of the innovative ways in which advisers can better support the borrowing needs of clients in order to help them achieve their financial goals.
The landscape of financial services is rapidly evolving to meet the everchanging needs of an aging population. As life expectancy increases and retirement patterns shift, so too does the way people plan their finances later in life. Later life lending has become a crucial area of focus for lenders, advisers, and clients alike with more people choosing to remain in their homes, access equity, or support younger generations with getting on to the property ladder.
In this exclusive interview, IFA Magazine’s Brandon Russell speaks with Arif Kara, Business Development Manager at Family Building Society, to explore the business’s unique approach to later life lending. Family Building Society has a history of providing tailored products that go beyond traditional criteria, offering solutions that help older clients remain financially independent well into their later years.
Arif outlines the key features of the group’s later life lending proposition, including the ability to offer repayment mortgages up to age 95, with flexible approaches to unearned income, buy-to-let income and large pension pots. He explains how these solutions help clients who may be asset-rich but cash-poor to unlock their wealth in a way that suits their individual needs — without needing to compromise their financial strategies or tax planning.
One of the standout offerings Arif highlights is the Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) proposition which allows multiple applicants to support a mortgage application without being named on the property deeds. As he makes clear, this product is ideal for intergenerational lending, where parents and grandparents help younger generations get onto the property ladder — or even in reverse, where younger family members support older relatives in refinancing their homes.
However, one aspect of the service which clearly sets Family Building Society apart is its personal approach to underwriting. As we explore in this conversation, Arif explains how their Business Development Managers (BDMs) work closely with brokers to ensure that each case is reviewed with a human touch, offering pre-application assessments and case-specific advice that streamline the process for advisers and their clients.
As later life lending continues to evolve, Family Building Society’s flexible and pragmatic approach ensures they remain a trusted partner for financial advisers looking to support their clients in retirement and beyond.
IFA MAGAZINE: Family Building Society’s later life lending proposition is quite different – what are some of the key aspects that advisers need to know?
ARIF: “Yes indeed, we accept applications up to 89 years old and can offer them a six-year term on a repayment mortgage or a five-year term on interest only or buy-to-let. Essentially, on repayment mortgages we go to 95 and on interest only we would lend to age 94.
“The common query is that nobody works to age 95, so what source of income are we looking to use? If they’re in a manual role we’ll stop using that income at age 70. If they’re in a non-manual role, we can give them another five years and use their income up to age 75.”
“Beyond age 75 is where we are interested in passive or unearned income, which the applicant does not have to work for, and there are a few forms that we accept. State pension is an obvious one that we’ll accept until age 95. Another source of income we’ll consider is from buy-to[1]lets which could be residential or commercial. We’ll look at passive income from a business that the applicant no longer works for, where they may have family running it or be a silent partner. As long as the accountant confirms to us that the applicant isn’t waking up at 7 am to go to work and actually they’ve got people doing that for them, we can use the salary plus dividends or salary plus net profit after tax, up to age 95.
“We also accept income from investments and private pensions. This is where I believe we stand out amongst other later life lenders as what we do is quite unique and quite generous. In cases where clients have large pension pots, for example £1 million, that they do not wish to draw from for tax purposes, we can use up to 90% of the pension pot value divided by the full term of the mortgage, and use that as an affordability measure. In the case of a £1 million pension pot split over a 10-year term, this would provide £90,000 per year as income on the application. For mortgages where the term is less than 10-years we will use 80% of the pension pot value. The key thing is they do not have to draw from their pension pot, so it’s a great way of monetising an asset. This is such a useful technique because, especially in the area I cover in Surrey, many clients are asset-rich but not necessarily cash-rich. This gives them an opportunity to capitalise on their accumulated wealth.”
IFA MAGAZINE: What sets Family Building Society apart from the rest of the market?
ARIF: Lending to age 95 is unique within the later life lending space, and the way we do it sets us apart from much of the sector. Ultimately though, it’s our criteria. Where we make a real difference is with the human touch that we offer as a business.
“On typical day, a BDM at Family Building Society will have numerous interactions with brokers and underwriters. Usually when a broker calls me with an enquiry, I’m very quickly able to tell if it’s a situation that we’ll be able to support. If that’s the case, I’m able to get the broker to send over the required documents and paperwork, go through them to make sure it’s a solid case, and then I’ll go back to the broker in the same email, saying this is your AIP and here are the case details.
“The reason that email is so useful is because if, and when, that case materialises, we tell our brokers to attach the email with the application. When our underwriters pick up the case, they can see that it’s been discussed and pre-agreed by a BDM, thus speeding up the process significantly. If I can’t agree a case straightaway, I’ll pick up the phone to one of our two Directors of Lending and run through the enquiry with them, and they may be able to agree an exception. If so, the broker can go online and complete the application knowing it has our approval. If an exception can’t be agreed we can relay that message back to the broker and let them know why.
“We are essentially acting as mini underwriters prior to the full application being submitted. This both speeds up the process and adds a human element to the review that is often missed in these situations.”
IFA MAGAZINE: Can you talk us through what you believe sensible intergenerational lending looks like today?
ARIF: “In the past, there tended to be very little support or variation in the products available to first-time buyers. In recent years, the offering has improved and there are many options. We offer something called a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP). This type of mortgage allows a buyer, who on their own would fail to meet the income requirements for a mortgage, to utilise a second party’s income to meet the sufficient income to qualify. However, whilst both parties will be named on the mortgage, just the occupying buyer will be named on deeds. This is a perfect product for parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts or uncles who are looking for a way to help their younger family members to get onto the property ladder.
“Importantly, if the helper already owns a property, there is no stamp duty implication. On the JBSP we accept up to four applicants, and in the same way as for our core mortgages, we offer a repayment mortgage up to age 95. The same principles apply when it comes to the way we judge relevant income. Manual jobs considered up to 70, non-manual up to 75 and passive or unearned income for the full term.”
“Another little quirk with JBSP is that people tend to assume it’s always for the older generation helping their children or grandchildren, but it also works in reverse. We often hear about parents who are stuck on high street interest-only mortgages, where the endowments they took out 35-40 years ago have now matured but haven’t grown enough to pay off the mortgage balance. These clients have retired now, so their pension incomes aren’t as high as their earned incomes were, so what we’re doing for these clients is a reverse JBSP. The younger generation can support their parents by going on the mortgage, but not the deeds. Even if the parents are 75 years old, we can still offer them a 20-year term by combining their passive income with the earned income of their children.”
“In conclusion, for us it’s all about offering maximum flexibility to try and help advisers’ clients to achieve their goals given their own individual circumstances. We welcome interaction with advisers and value the relationships we build with them. Our commitment is to provide them and their clients with exceptional service – as well as products which really do suit today’s changing market requirements.”
About Arif Kara

Arif is Business Development Manager at Family Building Society. He was previously a mortgage adviser and focuses on the North and West London area.
Click here to learn more about Family Building Society
