A mortgage adviser wants more choice for self-employed people to access mortgages.

Andrew Montlake, a mortgage adviser, has called for more lenders to understand the self-employed.

In October 2016, a MortgageSolutions.co.uk article mentioned research by the Nottingham Building Society discovering that 12% of self-employed borrowers have been turned down for mortgages as first time buyers or for remortgaging.

Many self-employed people have an above average income and are not being turned down because of low income.

Although the chance of getting loans for the self-employed has greatly improved since the 2008 credit crunch, Montlake believes that there is room for improvement. He said:

“There needs to be more lenders who understand the self-employed and how they are paid. Some lenders will look at customer’s accounts while other will look at their profit. It’s about finding the right broker who understands which lender would be best suited to the customer.”

The Nottingham Building Society surveyed mortgage brokers and found that 87% of them wanted more choice for self-employed borrowers who may not meet the strict criteria that many traditional high street lenders demand.

Of the brokers surveyed, 33% said that they had a rise in the number of self-employed clients, and 23% expected applications to continue rising for the rest of the year.

Some lenders have reduced their rules on self-employed lending by reducing the need to provide two to three years trading figures, opting for just 12 months instead.

Many of the best self-employed mortgage deals and mortgage protection insurance policies are only available from mortgage and insurance brokers.