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Freelancer Self Certified Mortgages

Back in 2009 the Financial Services Authority (FSA) put an end to self-certification mortgages in an attempt to ensure that all borrowers prove their ability to repay in advance.

Self-certification mortgages were originally aimed at the self-employed and freelance/contract workers who had trouble proving their income and in many cases became the mortgage of choice for contractors on irregular income who struggled to secure mortgage borrowing with their bank.

However, with the removal of these specialist mortgages many contractors worried it might be difficult to secure new lending or even refinancing with their own mortgage providers. We are very happy to announce that this needn't be the case as many lenders are happy to lend to contractors who have had a contract for as little as six months. 

This new flexible approach must in someway be due to the huge demand and move to contracting for so many people plus the higher daily rates contractors often earn compared to their permanently employed colleagues.

SJD recommends specialist mortgage company Contractor Mortgages Made Easy (CMME) who can help you secure mortgage borrowing with high street lenders taking the whole of your earnings into consideration.

Click here to use our Contractor Mortgage Assessor and see how much you could borrow based on your contract rate.

Taj Kang, Associate Director at CMME commented “The fact that so many self-certified mortgages were granted to employed workers who could prove their income, and the high level of arrears associated with these type of loans shows that self-certification mortgages were being abused by both individuals and brokers. At CMME, we wouldn’t advise a professional Contractor or Freelancer to go down the self-certification route, if you approach a specialist contractor mortgage broker then they should be able to secure you a competitive mortgage that is based upon appropriate evidence of income.”

“It is the opinion of CMME that the FSA are correct to tighten up lending criteria, as any Contractor or Freelancer that can adequately afford a mortgage should have no need to go down the more expensive self-certification route to secure borrowing”.

If you are looking to take that first step on the ladder, or to remortgage an existing property, then Contractor Mortgages Made Easy will help you find a solution to suit your needs. Whether you want to find out the best rates available or help calculating how much you can borrow based on your contract rate alone, call 0844 44 88 800 or email CMME on: easy@contractormortgagesuk.com

Easy Accountancy

Easy Accountancy is the UK’s only national specialist accountancy firm for freelancers, sole traders and small businesses

If you’ve just started out as a freelancer or run a small business, you’ll definitely need a small accountant and there are plenty of options out there! However, most accountants will charge you every time you get in touch with them; for every phone call, email or meeting.

We don’t want our clients to be scared to contact us and potentially lose out on valuable tax saving advice. It's even more important when you first start out as you really need to set your business up in the best way possible. As a start up you’ll probably have loads of questions and will really appreciate the fact you can call your accountant as many times as you like without the fear of racking up large bills.

Our low cost, all-inclusive fixed-fee accountancy service includes unlimited access to your own accountant throughout the year, so you never need to worry about picking up the phone and then receiving a bill afterwards for the privilege, and covers all your business and personal tax affairs needs. All clients additionally receive: 

  • Help to run your business in the most tax efficient way possible
  • Help so you can understand the taxes you need to pay
  • Advice on the best ways to manage your business
  • Updates and reminders so you'll never miss a deadline
  • Help to ensure you maximise your tax allowances
  • Provide proactive tax advice throughout the year

We’ve saved our clients up to half on their accountancy bills – if you’d like a quote, click on the quote me button to the right of this page. Alternatively, call us on 0500 234111 / 01442 275767 or email jessica@easyaccountancy.co.uk

We also have a money-back service guarantee - all of your telephone calls and emails will be answered on the same day, or we will refund your monthly fee (another first within the accountancy world).

To appoint us as your accountants, please fill in our Client Agreement Form online.

If you are a contractor working through a limited company then visit SJD Accountancy (our sister company) who specialise in providing tax advice and accountancy services for Limited Company contractors. You can also keep up to date by following the SJD Accountancy Twitter

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