Credit crunch fails to hit self-cert mortgage market

People seeking self-certification mortgages should have no problem finding a deal despite tightened lending, sparked by the credit crunch.

That is according to mortgage broker Alexander Hall, which said it has been easily placing clients with self-certification mortgages and believes the market remains strong.

This will come as good news to the 3.8 million self-employed UK residents which are believed to make up 13 per cent of the workforce and who are the most likely to take out this kind of mortgage deal.

Fears the "self-cert" market could decline and leave less choice for potential customers came as many mortgage lenders tightened lending criteria to high risk clients.

But Andy Pratt, a spokesman for Alexander Hall, said all those clients who would have got self-cert mortgages before the credit crunch, have been able to get them now.

He said: "There's nowhere near the same impact that there has been on subprime mortgages. There are some lenders who have been what we would call non-conforming and have offered subprime, buy-to-let and self-cert mortgages – and some of them have closed to business. So the choice is slightly lower.

"But from our perspective, I can only say that we've had no problems placing clients with self-cert mortgages, because there's still a good enough choice out there."

Mr Pratt advised anyone considering taking out a self-cert mortgage to consult an independent broker who will provide the all-important guidance needed for people in that situation.