Getting a mortgage in the post-2007 economic climate was not easy for many people however the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed that last year was the best year for mortgage approvals since the financial crisis.

However new intrusive questionnaires and restrictions on those who are applying for a homeowner mortgage are expected to be brought in this Summer with lenders Kensington, Skipton, Principality, Virgin Money and Coventry building societies all announcing that they will be following the new guidelines.

 The Mortgage Market Review which is carried out by the FCA is trying to ensure that those who are applying for a homeowner mortgage are actually able to afford it. While this is often dependent on income and credit scores now the criteria is set to extend further and will look at what this money is being spent on from every day living, gambling, on pets and even the amount of times applicants eat out.

 The logic is that spending habits directly influence the ability to make mortgage payments on time. A couple with a good income might look perfect for a mortgage approval but under these new guidelines if they eat out regularly, have borrowed in the past, have pets and take expensive holidays then this can all count against them.

The Ipswich Building Society has already anticipated that nearly 70,000 mortgage applications could be rejected this Summer alone under these new rules. For those of homeowners who are thinking of selling your property online this can seriously limit the number of potential buyers.

That being said, one of the biggest online estate agents I Am The Agent think that there are some things buyers can do to help their mortgage application even with these new guidelines.

For instance, in preparation for applying for a homeowner mortgage applicants can change spending habits beforehand. For ‘borderline’ cases then a lender will look into the applicants spending and it is recommended to change this before starting the application process. Preparing an ‘ingoing’ and ‘outgoing’ chart is a good idea and ensure social and leisure spending is tightened so as not to fall into a negative position each month, this will be a great start.

Remember that interest rates may not always be low, so always be prepared!

Also, the bigger the deposit that a mortgage applicant is willing to put up the better rates they will get. From market research it seems that a deposit of between 25-30% or more is necessary to get good deals in terms of repayment rates. This can be a difficult figure to come up with depending on the property however it will result in being able to get the cheapest deals available in the current climate.

Mortgages are undoubtedly more difficult to get these days even though approval rates have been rising. With these new approval guidelines coming into place from several lenders then the criteria is tightened further. While they may only apply to those people who are considered ‘borderline’ cases in terms of whether they will make the repayments back or not many industry experts are still worried about these developments.

 I Am The Agent is a no commission estate agent that is committed to helping people sell and let their property online and we also extend this help to providing great customer services. You can always call us to discuss the above or if you have any questions about selling, buying, renting and letting a property online and supporting you without the need of an expensive high street estate agent in the current market.