Saffron for Intermediaries has launched a campaign to help and support its broker partners to get more self-employed mortgage applications approved the first time around.
The lender says that since 2020 the self-employed have seen increasing challenges when applying for a mortgage and the ‘one size fits all’ approach of the larger lenders has posed challenges for more complex cases. The situation doesn’t appear to be improving either, as the Mortgage Broker Tools (MBT) Affordability Index identified that a third of all self-employed applications did not pass the lenders’ affordability criteria.
In a bid to further support brokers and their self-employed clients, Saffron For Intermediaries commissioned an independent survey to better understand how the self-employed feel about the mortgage market and what they perceive to be the stumbling blocks preventing them from achieving a successful application.
The survey went out to 1,000 self-employed people and found that 49% said they wouldn’t feel confident finding a mortgage lender that offers an affordable self-employed product. Meanwhile, 19% believe there is a good choice of lenders who offer self-employed mortgages.
Nearly three quarters (73%) of participants surveyed believe that being self-employed puts them at a disadvantage when applying for a mortgage, while only 15% agreed with the statement that there are plenty of mortgage products available on the market for self-employed individuals.
Saffron for Intermediaries said the data captured by the survey highlights how important it is for lenders and brokers to work in collaboration to ensure self-employed borrowers know that there are products available for them.
Last week saw Saffron announce the most recent changes to its criteria; from now, self-employed applicants with two years or more of trading accounts can access Saffron’s full range of products. This opens up opportunities for the self-employed, including self-build and JBSP products. Saffron also continues to only request one year of accounts to be able to access its specialist self-employed product range.