Virgin Money launches lower interest Greener Mortgages

Virgin Money is offering enticing mortgage options for environmentally-conscious buyers purchasing energy-efficient new-build homes. 

The new Greener Mortgages have much lower interest rates than normal mortgages, with rates starting at just 1.25%. Virgin Money is the first bank in Europe to offer such loans in commercial banking, providing the perfect opportunity for homebuyers to snap up their dream property.

With such a large number of people now working from home, many have opted to move to a property that suits their needs better. And as the pandemic has caused 34% of people to think more about their impact on the environment, there’s no better time for Virgin Money to unveil its Greener Mortgages. The mortgages are available on new-build properties for both first and next time buyers and include Help to Buy Equity Loan options. 

For each Greener Mortgage sold, Virgin Money will fund sustainable energy projects around the world in partnership with Carbon Neutral Britain, one of the UK’s leading carbon offsetting initiatives. These projects will include reforestation, hydro and solar to offset five tonnes of carbon emissions, the equivalent of those produced by an average UK home over a 12-month period. Virgin Money also plans to fund the planting of 100,000 trees. Studies have shown that around 15% of the UK’s total carbon emissions come directly from residential homes, so Virgin Money aims to incentivise homebuyers to purchase more energy-efficient dwellings to help our planet for the long-term.

Virgin Money

Be rewarded for a greener lifestyle

Greener Mortgages are designed to reward customers who buy greener, new-build homes with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) or Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA) rating of A or B. It features a range of two and five-year fixed-rate mortgages which come with cashback to help towards valuation costs. The products are available at 65%, 75% and 85% loan to value (LTV) for standard residential mortgages and at 55% and 75% LTV for Help to Buy Equity Loan products. 

With 67% of people keen to live a greener life and with climate change being important to 78% of people, there’s no better time to buy an energy-efficient home. And with Greener Mortgages an environmentally-conscious lifestyle no longer has to be more expensive. 

Virgin Money announced its aspiration to halve carbon emissions across everything it finances by 2030 as part of the launch of its environmental, social and governance strategy in 2020.

The launch of Greener Mortgages follows the introduction of new sustainability-linked loans which reduce the cost of finance for those businesses whose core activities proactively help the economy transition to a more sustainable model.

Visit Virgin Money to find out more.

For full terms and conditions go to: https://uk.virginmoney.com/mortgages/greener-mortgages/