Self Cert Mortgage
Self Cert Mortgage - Do Your Circumstances Stack Up For Approval
Who needs a self-cert mortgage?
A self cert mortgage is suitable for borrowers who, for whatever reason, do not have a straightforward or regular salary. For example, self-employed borrowers who do not have more than three years of bone fide accounts would have to opt for a self cert mortgage. According to the Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey, in quarter one of 2007, there were in excess of 3 million (3,337,000) self-employed workers in the UK and numbers are steadily growing.
It might be however that you are not self-employed, yet your basic salary still does not represent your total earnings, in which case a self cert mortgage is still applicable. For example, you could receive dividends through shares in a company, large bonuses through a banking job in the city, or a significant part of your salary could be made up of commission, as is the case with an estate agent or advertising sales executive. It could be that you simply have more than one job or moonlight from home, earning extra cash doing anything from stuffing envelopes to making wedding cakes.
In any case, with the average house price now at a staggering £183,898 according to statistics from Nationwide Building Society (August 2007), people need all the borrowing capacity they can get their hands on to make either the first rung of the property ladder or climb up to the next one. A self cert mortgage enables borrowers to use every part of their earnings in order to achieve this.
How is a self cert mortgage different to a regular mortgage?
Since all mortgages were regulated by the Financial Services Authority in November 2004, self cert lenders will want to see proof of your income (or extra income) in order for borrowers to qualify for a self cert mortgage. 
Although a self cert mortgage will be more flexible in what it will lend, as this is the nature of the loan, lenders will balance their 'risk see-saw' by requiring a bigger deposit than would apply to a standard loan; a self cert mortgage usually requires a minimum of 20 per cent of the property value.
How easy is it to get a self cert mortgage?
Once borrowers fit the lenders criteria, getting a self cert mortgage is no harder then getting a standard mortgage - especially if you use a mortgage broker that specialises in the field. Due to increasing consumer demand and flexible working patterns, the selection of self cert loans is also greater than ever, which means lending terms such as interest rates and tie-ins are also more competitive.
