Niche Mortgage Lenders Kylie's Mortgage Podcast

Right now a niche is a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service and to be honest that description does fairly accurately describe what I mean when I talk about niche lenders.

And when it comes to niche lenders mortgage consumers tend to feel a

Very occasionally a client will ask that when we apply for a mortgage that we do so from a high street lender.  Sometimes a client will see the name of the lender on the mortgage illustration i have provided them with and they will ask about the lender because it is not a name that they have heard before and they become rather worried when they see this.

Now high street lenders are perfect for the perfect client but if you can not obtain the funds from the high street lenders then these niche lenders are perfect for your needs.

All lenders have their own criteria, this is a set of guidelines which the lenders will base their decision to either lend or not lend on. Ok, sometimes it is possible for a lender to accept a case which is outside of policy but for the most part the criteria is set in stone which is fine. Having a criteria is a useful tool, it allows mortgage advisors of this world to understand the lender's position and understand which types of clients or cases that they lenders will or won't accept - this means that we don't then spend a lot of time and effort placing a case with a lender only for them to kick it out and decline the application.

Sometimes we need to use these types of lenders when there has been a level of adverse credit which is just above that of what the lenders on the high street are comfortable with - sometimes these lenders are used because the client's income is made up in a less than typical fashion and sometimes these lenders are used because of the property itself.

These lenders often have more of a manual approach to the application process which can be useful if something on an application requires some level of explanation. This manual approach to the application can be useful but it can also slow down the process slightly so it is really important to give your mortgage advisor all the details about your case going into the application so that a full picture can be provided to the lender and then they have the option really early on to decide if they are going to proceed with the case rather than find out something later on which makes them decline to offer. When I am putting a case together for a lender I like to provide as detailed an application as I can and bring all the positives of the case to view and the parts of the case which I would like them to make a decision on rather than hope the lender does not spot the ‘issue’. I provide detailed explanations of the bank statements where I think appropriate. In a way, I am saying to a lender ‘ yes this did happen or yes this is the case in this area but hey look at all the reasons you should lend to this person’

As a rule of thumb, if you have made an application to a mainstream lender i.e. to one of the banks you see in the high street and they decline that application - stop and try and find out why they did.

It may be that you may be able to apply to the next bank or building society on the high street and that they will accept your application -  but it is well worth trying to work out why your application was declined before you do so. If you don’t try to evaluate why you were declined by speaking to the lender or getting a copy of your credit report then you risk a lot of wasted time and effort and in the case of a purchase then you may risk the purchase of the property that you have set your heart on.

Thank you so much for listening I have been Kylie Meade-Richards and I'll see you next time