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There has been many cases of brokers banned and fined by the authorities for misusing self cert loans – make sure that your broker is fully qualified to deal with your needs honestly.

The Financial Services Authority – the UK financial watchdog that oversees all of the financial services sector – has banned and fined nearly 50 brokers in the last year, many of whom were found to have abused self cert mortgages to get fraudulent mortgages for themselves and their clients.

These dodgy brokers have encouraged people to inflate their incomes and have assured people that it's fine to lie on a mortgage application. Through stupidity and greed they have put homeowners at risk and have committed a heinous criminal offense – putting honest people's life savings and families at risk.

This is unacceptable. A good mortgage adviser ADVISES, he or she does not lie, does not cheat and does not find a mortgage to make them money. A good adviser searches for a deal that they think will benefit the borrower most. They understand that by giving good advice the borrower will come back to them again and again – for their mortgage needs, their insurance needs and more.

If you are a self cert borrower make sure your mortgage adviser is not a cowboy. Ask about their practices, their company's rules and regulations. Ask them to see past testimonies from self cert clients and even ask them to prove their official regulatory permissions – if they cannot prove that they are regulated by the FSA, then say no.

A good self cert mortgage adviser will be able to do all this and more. They will be able to show you that they can honestly find you a deal that works with your income. They will not encourage you to lie, they will not put your money and your family at risk and they will only ask you to do what you are comfortable with doing.

SOURCE: FSA, 2009

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