Transparent Mortgages

Most brokers and banks tend to focus on prime borrowers (salaried income, good down payment and good credit)
I typically focus on self-employed/ business owner borrowers and borrowers that have had bruised / poor credit and are looking to fix their position utilizing their equity, and eventually move from sub-prime to prime lender. I find these clients are more loyal and more appreciative of the work I do, especially when their bank or recommendation has advised ‘no’ to them.

With self-employed individuals, main banks and other prime lenders will only approve based on their personal declared earnings and they want to see consistency over 2 years. The issue with this is, their borrowing capacity with a bank is much less due to the way they assess income.
With the lenders that I have on my panel, they exclusively lend out to self-employed borrowers by assessing their business income. Usually between 6-12 months of cashflow is required. These lenders do not assess tax documentation, as it does not show their true earnings.

With borrowers that have had bruised/poor credit due to multiple missed credit card / loan payments and/or borrowing up to the limit of credit cards, this will affect a borrower’s credit score and will mean they no longer qualify at any prime bank.
This is a big issue with clients existing mortgage lender, especially if renewal is coming up, as the borrower will not be allowed to renew with the prime lender. As a mortgage broker, I have access to alternative lenders, that will lend to borrowers that have had issues, so long is the situation helps the client in the long run.

Other options that client can proceed with are second mortgages/ home equity loan, payout all their debts, keep their existing mortgage where it is (especially if it is at a low rate, and locked in for 1+ years). This will improve client credit score, profile and their cashflow by consolidating their debt into one monthly payment.
When their bank mortgage comes up for renewal, we can then move this second mortgage / home equity loan by refinancing with a prime bank at a lower cost of interest.

Other clients that I specialize with are borrowers that have purchased pre-construction homes direct with builders. Usually it can take from 1-5 years to complete. In that time, a borrower usually would have built-up equity before closing.
All banks and alternative lenders will only lend based on the original contract agreed price, not the new increased value. I have access to private lenders that will lend based on the new value. This means that a borrower can use the equity to cover any remaining down payment and closing costs without having to use their savings etc.