Accord Mortgages contractor mortgages
Accord Mortgages is an intermediary-only lender — available exclusively through brokers, never direct to the public — and the broker-facing brand of Yorkshire Building Society. Because it deals solely with intermediaries, its process is built around well-packaged contractor cases, which can make underwriting smoother for day-rate and contract income.
Can a contractor get a Accord Mortgages mortgage?
Yes — and only this way, since Accord lends exclusively through brokers. It can size borrowing from contract income where the case fits, and every application it sees has been packaged by an intermediary first.
As the broker-facing brand of Yorkshire Building Society, Accord pairs a large mutual’s backing with a broker-only model — your adviser presents and manages the case from the outset.
How Accord assesses contractor income
Because every Accord case arrives through a broker, the income is already framed before an underwriter sees it — which suits contract income well. It can gross up a day rate across the year rather than relying on accounts, and it treats umbrella, inside-IR35 and director income on their own separate footings. The basis and multiple that apply are confirmed at submission.
A cleanly presented contractor case
Annualised (5 × 46): £110,400
Indicative borrowing at 4.5×: ≈ £496,800
For illustration only. Accord confirms the basis and multiple when the case is submitted.
Do contractors pay a higher rate with Accord Mortgages?
There is no contractor loading in the pricing. What you pay tracks loan-to-value, credit and product choice. A properly presented case reaches competitive rates regardless of how the income arises.
What ‘intermediary-only’ means for you
It simply means you can’t go to Accord directly — its mortgages are available only through a broker. For a contractor that’s an advantage: the case is presented and managed by your adviser from day one, in the way Accord’s underwriting expects, and compared against lenders you could approach directly.
A note on criteria
Accord's criteria — how contract income is multiplied, any minimum day rate or trading history, the contract types it accepts — are its own and are reviewed regularly. Because it is broker-only, second-hand summaries of its rules are especially prone to being out of date. We establish the current position for your case rather than repeating a figure from elsewhere.
Smart Mortgage Solutions is an independent, whole-of-market broker. We are not affiliated with Accord Mortgages and are not endorsed by it; it is named only to describe lending we can arrange. Criteria are liable to change and are confirmed at application.
Lenders we work with — a selection
Lender guides: Halifax · Barclays · HSBC · NatWest · Nationwide · Accord · Clydesdale · Yorkshire BS · Kensington See how we place cases →
Accord Mortgages contractor mortgages, answered
Can I apply to Accord Mortgages directly?+
Yes — and in Accord's case there is no alternative, because it lends exclusively through brokers. That is not a drawback: it means every case reaching it has already been packaged by an intermediary, and the underwriting is set up to read contract income rather than a payslip.
Is Accord good for contractors?+
It can assess umbrella and inside-IR35 income, on a basis distinct from limited-company contracting, confirmed at application. What matters is that the gross contract goes in front of the underwriter, not the net figure after the umbrella's deductions.
What’s Accord’s link to Yorkshire Building Society?+
Where criteria fit, yes — the contract day rate can be annualised rather than the lender working from your accounts. The multiple applied and any minimums are confirmed when the case is submitted.
Does Accord use the day-rate method?+
No. Being a contractor does not attract a price loading. What you pay follows loan-to-value, credit profile and product, so a well-presented case reaches competitive pricing.
Will I pay more applying through a broker to Accord?+
You cannot — Accord is broker-only and does not accept direct applications. That is one of the reasons it is worth having on your shortlist: it never sees a contractor case that hasn't been properly presented first.