Self Certified Mortgages

If you are hoping to get a mortgage then be sure and bring everything of importance to your appointment with a mortgage broker. By providing all the necessary information at the outset, it minimizes delays and makes the process easier. Requested information might include: utility bills, proof of identity and address, records on credit cards or other loans, pay slips and proof of monthly income. Oh wait. Is that a problem?

While lenders usually require proof of income, sometimes people may have difficulty proving how much income they make. Perhaps they are self-employed or have not been trading long enough to produce any accounts; maybe they have more than one job or rely on large bonuses or commissions as part of their total income. Contract workers, freelancers, unsalaried company directors, or low wage earners with higher assets would all have problems in providing income records. These people need to consider self certified mortgages.

They are often referred to as non-status mortgages. The work environment is changing and companies don’t always have 9 to 5 jobs anymore. Many individuals now receive monthly income from different sources.

This isn’t a major problem; in fact, this is why self certified mortgages were designed for legitimate reasons where income could not proved in writing the traditional way. Therefore a lender could rely on self certified mortgages, or, a self assessment of income.
 
These types of mortgages usually have a higher interest rate than a mortgage where you can prove your income in writing. There is no other real use for self certified mortgages besides this; it’s more of a risk and ends up costing more. Therefore, if a person could somehow prove his or her income it would be much easier and less expensive. However, self certified mortgages were designed because sometimes that just cannot be done.

There is no need for a person to provide accounts, bank statements, pay slips or other income-related documents why applying for self certified mortgages. Instead a lender will run a credit check, analyze the credit score and work from there. In some cases the lender would request a reference from a creditor or landlord.

The standard deposit is 15% of the final price, though a 25% deposit would lower the high interest rate with self certified mortgages. The minimum deposit would be 10%, though at such a low deposit and high-risk mortgage, few lenders would accept the deal.

These new types of mortgages are not a worldwide concept. In some countries like the United Kingdom they are very popular, whereas in a country like Italy they do not even exist. While self certified mortgages make life a little bit easier, when you’re talking about a mortgage, nothing is really “easy.”