There have been muted announcement’s from the FSA recently that indicate they may be moving to stop fast track lending and self certification mortgages for people in full time employment but there still seems to be a lack of understanding in what self cert is for.
Self Certification is designed for those who cannot prove their income and for whom normal lending practice of considering income that is not guaranteed at a rate of 50% would cause unfair difficulty in borrowing.
There are many types of employment that are paid largely in commission income ranging from recruitment consultants, estate agents, business development managers to stock brokers, (even mortgage advisors my friend!). These are all forms of employment that may produce a need for self certification.
Other people that are owners of a business that may produce very irregular income streams such as businesses in tourism sectors or a firm that was paid on completion of large irregular contracts may also have a need to self certify particularly when self employed.
What it is not is a means to inflate income. Lenders will withhold the right to contact employers, ask for bank statements and other supporting information so if the figures are out of the ordinary they should be asking questions and hopefully if the FSA keep this mind it won’t be banned. There is a home for Self Certification that shouldn’t be ignored.
Tags: Self Cert, Self Certification