Precise Mortgages cuts rates by up to 0.35% — good news for contractors who don't fit high-street criteria

What Precise cut and why it is significant

Precise Mortgages reduced fixed rates by up to 0.35% across both Tier 1 and Tier 2 residential products up to 90% LTV on 12 June 2026. The cut applies across the product range rather than to a single headline product, meaning improvements for new purchase, remortgage and near-prime borrowers simultaneously.

Precise is part of the Together Money Group and is positioned explicitly as a lender for borrowers who don't fit standard high-street models. Unlike Nationwide or Barclays, whose rate cuts primarily benefit prime PAYE borrowers and a subset of the contractor market, a Precise rate cut directly benefits contractors, self-employed borrowers, umbrella company workers, and those with minor historical credit issues — groups who are often excluded from high-street pricing altogether.

How Precise assesses contractor income

Precise does not require payslips or SA302 tax returns as the primary evidence of income for contractors. Instead, the lender assesses income on the basis of the contract rate multiplied by the contract period — which may be annualised as daily rate × days × weeks, or calculated over the remaining contract term. This approach gives a much more accurate picture of a contractor's actual earning capacity than any payslip-based model.

Precise accepts applications from day-rate contractors, umbrella company workers, IT and professional contractors, and limited company directors. The key requirement is that the contract is current and verifiable. The lender is particularly useful for contractors in situations that cause problems at high-street lenders: recently moved from inside IR35 to outside; multiple short-term contracts in the same sector; limited company directors drawing low salaries; contractors between accounts years with strong current income but incomplete last accounts.

Tier 1 vs Tier 2: what the distinction means

Precise's tiered product structure separates borrowers by credit history. Tier 1 is for borrowers with a clean credit record and provides access to the best available rates. Tier 2 accommodates borrowers with minor historical credit issues — for example, a missed payment that is more than 12 months old, a satisfied default, or a small county court judgement that has been settled. Tier 2 rates are higher than Tier 1, but the June 2026 cuts apply across both tiers, meaning the spread between standard high-street rates and Precise Tier 2 has narrowed.

For contractors with a minor credit blip — perhaps from a period between contracts or a late payment during a difficult project — Precise Tier 2 may be the only realistic route to a mortgage at a competitive rate. The June cuts make that route more attractive than it was in May.

What this tells us about the broader market

When specialist lenders cut rates alongside high-street lenders, it signals that improving funding conditions are reaching the full market — not just the prime segment. In 2022–2024, specialist lenders were slow to pass on funding cost increases to their products, partly because their borrower base was less rate-sensitive than prime borrowers. The same dynamic works in reverse: when conditions improve, specialist lenders now have room to compete on price in a way that was not available twelve months ago.

For contractors who were previously resigned to specialist lender rates as a premium over the high street, the current environment offers meaningful improvements. The gap between what a prime contractor with clean credit can access through Precise Tier 1 and what they would pay at Nationwide or Halifax has narrowed in June 2026 — and Day Rate Finance can calculate exactly where that gap sits for your specific income profile.

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Category: Lender Rate Cuts & Product Updates