Ways To Improve Your Mortgage Application In 2025
Being declined a mortgage is more than disheartening.
It’s a major setback because it will hamper all other applications you make shortly after being declined.
Only two applications for a large loan product should be made in the same year. With such a low application ratio, it is worthwhile to choose a lender and take steps to ensure the application has a good chance before you submit it.
4 Considerations for a Clean Mortgage Application
1 – No gambling transactions on your bank statement
Banks tend to check the last six months of your bank statement, if not going back a year. Your application might be more scrutinised if large or multiple smaller amounts are going to online gambling sites.
Gambling is considered risky, but only when it’s considered problem gambling. One user on the GamCare forum board writes about how the bank manager called him on the phone after noticing transactions to a gaming website.
That shows you that many variables are considered during the application process. Even with a stellar credit rating, the transactions on your bank statements could call for more scrutiny of your financials.
If you feel your bets are getting worrisome, get advice.
“The Gordon Moody Association, which treats the most serious addicts, estimates that they “will have severely affected the lives of at least 15 others in order to support their gambling”.
Neasa MacErlean: Independent.co.uk
For those affected by others, GamCare has a support and advice page for those affected by problem gambling.
One of the first problem gambling reports to be published by the Gambling Commission polled 4,000 people in Wales, which identified 1.1% of respondents as problem gamblers, with a further 3.8% of all respondents being identified as low to moderate risk of problem gambling.
For Britain, The Independent reports that up to 3.5M people across the UK are in the at-risk category of problem gambling.
2 – Lenders are Scared of the Self-Employed
A few years back, the Self-Employed could easily get a mortgage through self-certification. These were no-proof-required loans, which led to this type of loan being dubbed the liar’s loan because it was easily manipulated. Now they’re banned.
Most lenders will scrutinise a mortgage application from a self-employed person. They are nervous because of income fluctuation. Lenders are extremely insecure, and the self-employed scare them.
Your challenge to getting mortgage approval is convincing them you’re a safe lender.
A couple of things that can help lenders feel more comfortable approving a Self-Employed mortgage:
Don’t do your accounts yourself
Have an accountant, preferably a chartered accountant, as that proves your accounts are above board and are documented by a professional who stands behind your figures. It’s no longer based on the version of your accounts that can be manipulated in many ways.
Request a copy of Form SA302 from HMRC.
This form is a backup to support your claims about your accounts, which preferably should be done by an accountant, but if you’re comfortable taking care of your self-employed tax returns, you’ll need this form. It’s a verification method to let lenders know that what you state is your income is the same as what’s declared to HMRC.
Buckley’s Chartered Accountants guide on what’s needed and how to access the form using your HMRC online credentials.
3 – Review your spending habits
Chances are you aren’t looking too closely at your bank statements every month. It would help to do that before applying for a mortgage because lenders will review your spending habits.
When asked for copies of your recent bank statements, this is why and not to verify your income. It’s to review your spending. They want to see if you can afford the payments based on your income and if Mum and Dad’s FPI payments do not support them to keep you afloat.
Look over your recent bank statements and see where your money is going. If (or when) you notice you could be developing better spending habits, refer to James Coney’s advice on This Is Money about spring cleaning your finances.
4 – Setup Your Accounts to Never Miss a Payment
People forget, and that’s a real problem when it’s a payment from your Current Account. That’s bad and is reflected by a lender’s decision to refuse an application due to payment defaults, especially if it happens regularly.
If you forget how much is needed and when there’s a foolproof way to ensure you never miss a payment again. You need to set up a new Savings Account with the same bank you hold your Current Account with and then have the bank link the two accounts.
That way, when your Current Account is short of funds, the shortfall that would result in the transaction failing and the payment missed, the amount you are short of will be taken from your linked savings account, ensuring the payment is made on time.
If you work with PayPal, you’ll know that if you don’t have the money in your PayPal balance, payments can still be made automatically using your bank account, as that’s your backup funding source.
You can have your bank do the same with a Current and Savings account. Set up a backup funding source.
That’s only useful if there are enough funds, so it would be best to work out your total Direct Debits and Standing Orders and then keep that amount in your Savings Account. If it is dipped into, top it up by the amount used.
Then, you’ll always have at least enough to pay a month’s worth of Direct Debits and any Standing Orders you have.
Can you borrow for a loan of 25000 with repayment over five years?
The main issues with a 25k loan are the score from the credit report, the effect of mortgage arrears, the disappointing property valuation and the insufficient personal income.
Are you looking for 2nd mortgages rates with a poor credit score?
The main features of second charge mortgage rates are variable base rate, the impact of credit defaults, the delays in the property valuation and the evidence of payday loans on bank statements.
Are you searching for fixed-interest rate secured loans with flexible eligibility criteria?
The main features of a fixed interest rate loan are early repayment charges, the effect of defaults, the 3rd party valuation of the home pledged as collateral and the evidence of payday loans on bank statements.
Considering a 2nd mortgage with no phone calls without early repayment penalties?
The key characteristics of a second mortgage with no phone calls are the score from the credit report, the effect of a default notice, the delays in the property valuation and the evidence of payday loans on bank statements.
Can you borrow to get poor credit homeowner loans ideal for more significant amounts of money?
The main features of secured homeowner loans are poor credit intolerance, the impact of loan arrears, a disappointing property valuation and the evidence of a fraudulent application.
Can you get secured loans for bad credit in the UK with flexible eligibility criteria?
The main issues with a secured loan poor credit are the servicing of existing credit card debt, the effect of default notices, the delays in the home valuation, and the evidence of payday loans on bank statements.
Related Reading:
- Refused a Mortgage, What Now?
- Alternative Equity Release Methods that Don’t Always Use Your Home as Collateral
- Should You Remortgage To Pay Off Bad Debt?
There are options for people who do not want a mortgage any more. There are parts of the country where you can buy a cheap home for as little as £20,000 that is a freehold.