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What self-employed borrowers believe about their mortgage choices
Many questions have been asked of employed and self-employed people over the course of the pandemic and, as a lender and as an industry, we are constantly evaluating how to better service their borrowing needs.
Having said that, it appears that many self-employed people are still under the impression they are being short-changed when it comes to their mortgage requirements.
An exclusive Foundation Home Loans Housing Aspirations Report, produced in conjunction with BVA BDRC, found that - when looking for a mortgage – PAYE employed borrowers are generally more bullish compared to self-employed respondents.
Almost two-thirds (62%) considered it to be significantly more difficult to secure a mortgage as a self-employed person, with a similar proportion (60%) believing that some lenders don't want to deal with self-employed applicants. Other results in this section showed that 59% felt it takes longer to apply for and secure a mortgage as a self-employed person, 51% suggested that there’s a restricted choice of lenders available to self-employed applicants and 40% thought that mortgages for the self-employed are more expensive.
This data offers some great insight into the perceptions of the self-employed population in terms of their ability, or lack of, to secure a mortgage. Of course, this doesn’t take into account individual scenarios, how much research they have done or if they have spoken to a mortgage intermediary.
Another highly significant statistic did emerge that only 44% of self-employed reported utilising the services of a broker for their current mortgage arrangement.
We have been working hard to develop and implement a significant number of product and criteria-related enhancements to service the ongoing requirements of the self-employed community and enable borrowers with complex incomes to fit underwriting boundaries.
However, by not engaging with a broker, a large proportion of the self-employed community are not confident in their ability to secure a mortgage or are not fully aware of the options available to them.
If you would like to know more about the options available to your self-employed clients then speak to one of our team today.
