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Coventry Building Society mortgages: at a glance
Coventry Building Society offers capital repayment and interest-only mortgages, with its mortgage range currently including fixed-rate options if you’re a residential borrower. Mortgages are available over terms of up to 40 years, and while overpayments are an option, they may incur early repayment charges.
You can apply for a Coventry Building Society mortgage over the phone or in one of its branches if it offers access to a mortgage adviser.
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Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a loan or any other debt secured on it.
Coventry Building Society Mortgages
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Available Terms1 to 40 years
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Minimum Loan AmountNo minimum
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Repayment OptionsCapital & Interest; and Interest Only
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Agreement in Principle OnlineNo
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Track Your Application OnlineNo
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.
Coventry Building Society mortgage pros & cons
Pros
- The society offers capital repayment and interest-only mortgages.
- Mortgages are available at 85% LTV and above.
- Coventry Building Society is one of a handful of lenders to offer offset mortgages.
- There is a broad choice of mortgage terms, from one to 40 years.
- There is no set minimum mortgage amount.
Cons
- You can’t apply for or manage your mortgage online.
- It doesn’t offer mortgages for buyers using Shared Ownership or the First Homes scheme.
Coventry Building Society mortgage overview
Coventry Building Society is the eighth largest mortgage lender in the UK, and offers mortgages to borrowers who are looking to remortgage, move home or buy their first property. The building society also provides buy-to-let mortgages for landlords.
There is no specified minimum amount that you need to borrow and customer support is available online, over the phone and in some branches.
| Product options | Capital repayment Interest-only Fixed-rate Tracker 85% loan-to-value or higher Offset Right to Buy |
| Term length | 1 to 40 years |
| Minimum loan size | No minimum |
| Allows overpayments | Yes |
| Mortgages are portable | Yes |
| Ways to apply | Over the phone, in some branches |
| Customer service contact options | Online, over the phone, in branch |
| Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 74% (31 October 2023) |
Where Coventry Building Society mortgages stand out
High customer experience rating
Coventry Building Society receives an overall customer experience rating of 74% from Fairer Finance in relation to mortgages, making it our top-rated lender of those assessed overall.
Long mortgage terms
Coventry Building Society offers mortgage terms of up to 40 years compared with a maximum of 35 years offered by some other lenders. Opting for a longer repayment term can lower your monthly repayments but also means you’ll pay more in interest over the total length of your mortgage.
No minimum mortgage amount
If you want a smaller mortgage, Coventry Building Society has no set minimum mortgage amount. Some lenders specify that the smallest amount they will lend is £50,000.
Offset mortgages are available
Coventry Building Society is one of a select number of lenders to offer offset mortgages as a borrowing option. This type of mortgage allows you to use your savings to reduce the amount of interest you need to pay.
Where Coventry Building Society mortgages fall short
Limited online options
The only time it’s possible to apply to Coventry Building Society online is if you already hold a mortgage with the society and want to change products. New borrowers to the building society cannot get an agreement in principle online, and there is no clear option to track your application or manage your mortgage online.
Fewer product options than some lenders
If you’re looking for a particular type of mortgage, note that Coventry Building Society doesn’t offer green mortgages or family mortgages, such as springboard mortgages. Mortgages for buyers who are using Shared Ownership or the First Homes scheme aren’t available either.
» MORE: Best mortgage lenders
What types of mortgages does Coventry Building Society offer?
Coventry Building Society first-time buyer mortgages
Coventry Building Society first-time buyer mortgages are currently available up to 95% loan-to-value (LTV). This means you may be able to get a mortgage with a 5% deposit. Mortgages with no product fee are also available.
Coventry Building Society remortgages
Coventry Building Society offers remortgage deals across various loan-to-values. Remortgage options are available with or without product fees.
Coventry Building Society buy-to-let mortgages
Coventry Building Society buy-to-let mortgages are available to new and existing landlords, on both a fixed-rate and tracker-rate basis.
Coventry Building Society mortgage features
Repayment options
Coventry Building Society offers mortgages on both a capital repayment and interest-only basis.
With a repayment mortgage, your regular payments pay off the interest you owe and some of your original mortgage amount, or capital, each month. If every repayment is in full and on time, your entire mortgage should be paid off by the end of your mortgage term.
By contrast, with an interest-only mortgage, your repayments only cover the interest that is payable on your mortgage each month. Your monthly repayments will be lower but you will need a plan in place for paying off your original loan amount at the end of the mortgage term.
Be aware that interest-only mortgages tend to be harder to get than capital repayment mortgages and often have lower LTV limits. Coventry Building Society interest-only mortgages have a maximum 50% LTV.
» MORE: Interest-only vs. repayment mortgages
Mortgage rates
Coventry Building Society currently offers only fixed-rate mortgages to residential borrowers (correct as at 31 October 2023). Choosing a fixed-rate mortgage means your mortgage rate will stay the same for the length of time the deal lasts. When this initial period ends, you may decide to switch to a new deal or remortgage with another lender. If not, you will move on to Coventry’s standard variable rate (SVR). This may be higher than the rate you’ve just left and could rise or fall.
The mortgage rate you pay, and therefore your monthly repayments, may also increase and decrease with a Coventry Building Society tracker mortgage, depending on movements in the Bank of England base rate. Currently, tracker mortgages are only being offered to buy-to-let borrowers. Before taking out any variable-rate mortgage, it’s important to work out whether your monthly repayments would still be affordable if interest rates were to rise.
» MORE: Fixed- vs. variable-rate mortgages
Loan-to-value ratios
Coventry Building Society repayment mortgages are currently available to a maximum of 95% LTV. This means it’s possible to get a mortgage with a 5% deposit. Coventry Building Society interest-only mortgages are available to a maximum 50% LTV.
» MORE: Why your LTV is important for a mortgage
Mortgage offers
A mortgage offer from Coventry Building Society is usually valid for six months. During this time, the mortgage rate you’ve been offered will not change, regardless of what is happening to mortgage rates generally.
Making overpayments
It is possible to overpay on your mortgage with Coventry Building Society but fees and early repayment charges may apply. Check your mortgage offer or contact the building society to find out if these will apply.
» MORE: Mortgage overpayment calculator
Paying off your mortgage early
Coventry Building Society mortgages can be paid off early, but be aware there may be an exit fee, early repayment charges and other fees to pay. If you want to pay off your mortgage early you must call the society or go to your local branch to request a mortgage redemption statement which will outline everything you’d need to pay.
Porting your mortgage
If you’re moving home but would like to keep your existing Coventry Building Society mortgage, it may be possible to port your mortgage to your new property. Check with the society or on your mortgage documents to see if you may be eligible.
Customer support
You can contact Coventry Building Society about your mortgage online, over the phone or in some of its branches. There is also a live chat option on its website available at certain times.
Mortgage calculators
The Coventry Building Society website hosts a handful of mortgage calculators relating to how much you may be able to borrow, your potential monthly repayments and its offset mortgages.
» MORE: Our mortgage calculators
Customer ratings
Coventry Building Society receives a customer experience rating of 74% from Fairer Finance in relation to mortgages. This means that the society ranks first out of the 23 lenders it has reviewed. The ratings reflect customers’ happiness with the lender, how trusting they are of the brand and the effectiveness of the lender when handling complaints. How well lenders explain their products and the simplicity and clarity of their documents is also evaluated and taken into account.
This information from Fairer Finance was correct as of 31 October 2023.
How can I apply for a Coventry Building Society mortgage?
You can apply for a Coventry Building Society mortgage through an independent financial adviser (IFA) or mortgage broker or directly with the building society yourself.
If you want help to choose a suitable mortgage, Coventry has its own mortgage advisers who may be able to help, though they can only recommend mortgages from the building society itself.
If you get advice from an IFA or mortgage broker, they may be able to recommend mortgages from a range of lenders. Check if they are choosing from a limited number of lenders or whether they offer whole of market advice and be aware there may be additional fees to pay. Also note that the Coventry mortgages they can access may differ from those you can apply for directly.
» MORE: Do I need a mortgage adviser?
How to apply for a Coventry Building Society mortgage
To apply for a Coventry Building Society mortgage, you should:
- Be prepared: As well as your name, address, date of birth and proof of ID, also be ready to share details of your income, outgoings, the property you’re buying and any current mortgage you may have.
- Get in touch: With information in hand, you can either call Coventry Building Society or arrange an appointment at one of its branches to get your application underway.
- Receive mortgage offer: If a mortgage is agreed you’ll be sent a mortgage offer pack in the post explaining the rates, fees and wider terms of your offer.
» MORE: Next steps if your mortgage is declined
Coventry Building Society Mortgage FAQs
Coventry Building Society typically aims to make a mortgage offer within 15 days of receiving the documents, information and fees it requires.
Coventry Building Society is regulated by the financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). It is also 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.
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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.
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