Mortgages

Client requirements
First-time buyer residential mortgage.

Challenges
The clients were a couple, of which one was employed and one self-employed, and both first-time buyers. The self-employed client only had one year’s worth of figures, which weren’t formatted into traditional accounts. The mortgage needed to be a 95% loan-to-value and to add a further complication mortgage-wise, the clients were using a gifted deposit. The mortgage had to be offered and the property completed within very tight timescales too – one month from the initial enquiry.

Solution
Hawke FS initially took a step back and put the self-employed client in touch with an accountant, who reviewed their income and standardised their accounts. This, combined with the explanation Hawke put together for the lender, confirming employment history, gave assurance of the client’s continuity in the industry. As although the client had only been self-employed for one year they had consistently and successfully worked in the same industry for many years. Hawke supported the clients the whole way through the process, including in relation to the solicitors, the estate agent of the property they were purchasing, the surveyors and, of course, the lenders. This ensured the property could complete within the timescale.