1 in 3 Refused Applicants Get a Mortgage Through a Broker

A major new survey of the barriers to recovery for the UK housing market has found that a third of adults who were refused a mortgage then went on to get a mortgage through a broker successfully. The Countrywide and YouGov poll also highlights a number of concerns that Brits have regarding the large mortgage market in the UK. We look at how you could benefit from getting a mortgage through a broker instead.

Rejected Mortgage Applicants have More Luck via a Broker

The poll questioned over 2,000 adults including private rental tenants, homeowners with mortgages, shared equity stakeholders, owner occupiers and those living rent-free.

Mortgage Declined on Affordability

It found that the main cause of mortgage application rejection was insufficient income, with nearly three in ten people (29 per cent) encountering this problem. A low credit score lead to a mortgage application rejection for almost a quarter (24 per cent) of those surveyed. Nearly one in 10 said that their application was rejected on the basis of their being self-employed.

However, the survey also found that a third of adults who had experienced a rejection from a bank or building society subsequently went on to have their high value mortgage application accepted via a national or London mortgage broker.

“This proves the benefit of approaching a national or a London mortgage broker,” said Islay Robinson, director of London mortgage advisor and large mortgage specialist Enness Private Clients. “Brokers have specialist knowledge of lenders and so know who to approach for, say, a self-employed client or someone who needs to access higher income multiples. If you’re struggling to get agreement for your home loan, perhaps it’s time you spoke to an exprt?” The YouGov poll also highlighted several major barriers to the housing market’s recovery.

Barriers to the High Value Mortgage Market’s Recovery

The Countrywide research highlighted two main barriers to the recovery of the UK’s large mortgage market:

• Current living arrangements
• Affordability

Many young adults are happy where they currently live and have no desire to move. Two in five 18-24 year-olds and 41 per cent of 25-34 year-olds claimed that ‘being happy where I live’ is preventing them from moving.

In addition, the research found that 18 per cent of 25-34 year olds advised that being unable to afford mortgage repayments was preventing them from buying a property at this time. Nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of private renters reported that deposit affordability was a factor preventing them from buying.
Grenville Turner, chief executive of Countrywide, said: “The issue of deposit affordability remains the major barrier to purchasing a home for renters and we have been calling for some time now for meaningful mortgage targets to strong-arm higher loan-to-value lending.”

He added: “Restoration of the mortgage market would help unlock the current stagnated property chain with the availability of more accessible mortgages so that prospective property purchasers, both first-time buyers and downsizers, can buy their home at a price they can afford and in a location they want to live in.”