Self-Cert Mortgages
Self-Cert Mortgages - Much More Than Self Employed Mortgages
The changing nature of employment in the UK has fuelled the demand for self-cert mortgages. The growth in demand is largely because of lifestyle changes, which have seen an increasing number of people choose a more flexible style of working, such as freelancing. There have also been an increasing number of people who work from home, part-time, on a contract basis or earn additional income from investments or commission. And of course, millions of people work on a self employed basis in the UK who may have trouble finding a mortgage from a traditional high street lender and may need to search for self-cert mortgages.
Luckily, the demand for self-cert mortgages has been met by some lenders, but it is limited in this credit crunch. For the last decade it's been easy to get hold of non status mortgages, but now things are a lot tougher. Lenders have introduced more stringent criteria for self-cert mortgages even as an increasing percentage of the population has sought them. And although self-cert mortgages do not offer the same choice as other ranges of mortgages, a lot of different people can benefit from them.
While self-cert mortgages were originally the domain of the self employed, they are certainly not limited to this occupation. Self-cert mortgages can be useful if you work on a contract basis, earn additional income from commission or investment, work seasonally or have recently set up in business. Self-cert mortgages have also become increasingly popular because of high house prices. This has drawn to people to want to make use every piece of income they earn in order to get a loan big enough to afford a house. With a mainstream mortgage, lenders will commonly require you to prove your annual income with monthly pay slips.
However, for self-cert mortgages, you will be asked to declare your annual income but you will not be required to prove it with documentary evidence. In many cases you will be required to sign a declaration stating that you can afford the mortgage repayments. Lenders will then take this a step further and get a statement from your employer or from your accountant saying that you can afford the mortgage.
Self-cert mortgages can be obtained in a number of ways. First you can go online and look for a mortgage on a lender's website. You can also visit an independent financial adviser who will look at the full range of options available to you. You can also find self-cert mortgages by visiting the high street branch of a bank or a building society. Once you have conducted the background research and considered the options available you will find that looking for self-cert mortgages is not as difficult as you may have thought. If you make use of the full range of resources available to you then you should find be able to find a loan to suit your needs.
