The vast majority of self-employed mortgage applicants have given the thumbs up to using a broker to help them finance their home purchase.
A survey by specialist provider, The Mortgage Lender (TML), found 96% of non-PAYE applicants said mortgage brokers understood their needs when it came to buying a property.
Of those responding to the research, one in three (65%) applicants said brokers understood their needs completely and 94% said brokers knew what lenders to approach for their application.
Meanwhile, 93% said brokers’ knowledge of the specialist market was helpful in the home buying process. The same proportion said their broker was helpful in finding the best deals and rates available.
Non-PAYE workers, those who pay tax using self-assessment, and are therefore most likely to be self-employed, business owners, freelancers or contractors, often don’t fit the criteria of high street banks.
Self-employed applicants are required to provide detailed paperwork documenting their income and the process of applying for a mortgage can also be more complex.
TML’s survey found 93% of those quizzed found brokers helpful because they pointed them towards mortgage products applicants would qualify for, increasing their chances of being accepted.
They were also able to provide advice on how to build credit scores and check if their score was good enough for a mortgage and were knowledgeable about what income streams applicants have, which are issues often too complex for traditional lenders.
Brokers were also helpful in streamlining the process as a whole, the survey revealed. The majority of applicants agreed brokers helped them provide the correct paperwork, explained mortgage terminology and even sorted the mortgage application on behalf of the applicants.
Sara Palmer, distribution director at The Mortgage Lender (TML), said: “As a lender, we work with brokers every day to support our customers, and they are an integral part of the mortgage process.
“As a specialist lender especially, we rely on brokers to connect us to customers who are likely to need more specialist support than a high street bank can offer, whether this is because they’re self-employed or have complex income.
“For anyone struggling with the mortgage process for these reasons, brokers can help cross barriers and provide insight into something that can be quite daunting and overwhelming – while helping to obtain the best rates available for the applicant’s circumstances.”
