A leading figure within the mortgage sector is calling on advisors to do more to support self-employed people who are trying to secure a loan in the face of ever-tougher rules.
Mortgage Mum founder Sarah Tucker has told Mortgage Introducer that self-employed people are being hit with demands for further documentation, enhanced underwriting of applications and harsher levels of scrutiny than other types of borrower. They also have to pass affordability tests that are tougher than those applied to employed people, due to greater fluctuations in their income from month to month.
Tucker pointed out that many applications on behalf of self-employed borrowers are rejected even when all of these criteria are met and is urging advisors not to give up in these cases:
“Now more than ever we, as brokers, need to have exceptional knowledge and confidence in our roles, and be willing to challenge decisions that do not feel right to us.”
As an example of cases where advisors should be doing this, she cited situations where self-employed people do work on a seasonal basis, as this can make income appear unreliable when tested solely on a three-month period in the year.
There is certainly evidence to support the view put forward by Tucker, with 24% of mortgage advisors telling a recent survey that finding loans for self-employed people was harder than for any other type of client.
Every mortgage advisor with the CeMAP qualification wants to help self-employed people and using their expertise to convince lenders is part of that.
