Self-employed workers and Article 50

Around 1 in 5 people in the UK is either self-employed or on a fixed or zero hour contract, revealed the Telegraph this weekend. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that this group of workers took out 120,000 new loans last year, and experts say that lenders are finally adapting their criteria and taking a more flexible approach to underwriting. Typically lenders will want to see at least 2 years’ worth of accounts, to establish a good track record of income. This can however be a challenge, particularly for those who have encountered a more recent change to their employment status. The good news is that some lenders will now consider workers with only 1 year’s accounts or contract history. Elsewhere the Financial Times considered how Brexit will affect UK house prices and mortgages. The short answer is, of course, that we don’t yet know. Property transactions were down 9% in the second half of 2016 compared to the previous year, according to HMRC, as confidence dipped following the vote. Mortgage rates are still extremely low however, as lenders continue to compete for business.