What is a Mortgage Certificate and why you can’t afford to not have one

Would you like a way of confirming to an estate agent that you’re good to go on your offer that you make and that your finances are all in order without having to go through the task of having multiple credit checks every time you show any interest in a particular property.

When it comes to buying your first or next home the first thing you should do is ensure you have your finances in order so nothing comes up last minute that could stop you from buying the home you want.  

Estate agents (who represent the seller remember) will want to know you’re actually able to achieve the offer price that you make and will therefore typically ask to see either an Agreement in Principle or will ask you to speak to their own in-house mortgage advisor.

You need a Mortgage Certificate then.

The agreement in principle is a credit check and can show on your credit report. Multiple checks before you need to proceed with your mortgage application can come back to bite you as other/future mortgage lenders will see all these checks. They will start to wonder why, as it can be perceived that the other lenders are turning you down, as a declined credit score doesn’t show on their system checks just that you had a credit check with another lender. It’s also too early to know which lender you may proceed with as rates change daily and only until the day you submit your mortgage application do you know the lender you’re going to go ahead with. 

When it’s a right time to have an agreement principle/credit checks your mortgage broker will make you aware.

Check out an example below:

The estate agent will often say you can’t make an offer or even view the property unless they’re confident you can get the mortgage, so you can feel forced into revealing how much you can borrow and afford and this is never a good thing in a negotiation.

The solution to this is to have your very own Mortgage Certificate 

Our Mortgage Certificate includes all the initial checks that are needed to confirm in principle if you’re eligible for the mortgage you want and will also provide clarity to the estate agents that you’ve got your finances in order. 

Firstly one of our mortgage brokers will complete an initial review for you which will include assessing some of your documents. This is very important as mortgage lenders are very particular on what they want to see and are looking for and your mortgage broker will be able to check your documents in detail. 

With this completed your mortgage broker will be able to provide you with a Mortgage Certificate that confirms to the estate agents, that we’ve reviewed the following documents:

• Proof of identity 
• Proof of address
• Latest 3 months bank statements
• Proof of income
• Credit score

With those checked we can then issue you a mortgage certificate which won’t include any of your personal details, doesn’t involve a credit score as we review a copy of your credit report instead which puts the estate agents mind at rest (and yours) that you’re in a proceedable position to purchase the home you wish to make an offer on. 

Any decision to lend is always subject to full lender application, credit searches, criteria checks and a satisfactory valuation.

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