What is a Self Certification Mortgage?

A self certification mortgage is basically a normal fixed rate mortgage or variable rate mortgage where the lender doesn't need to see proof of your full earnings to grant you a mortgage (subject to their other lending criteria of course). You'll still need to declare your income and sign a declaration that this is accurate.

Who Are They Suitable For?

If your income is a bit erratic you may still be able to get a mortgage on a self certification basis. This could be if you:

• have a large proportion on commission based income;
• are self employed and have not been trading long enough to have a few years' accounts; or
• have income from a number of sources.
  

What Should You Look Out For?

• As these are standard mortgages, the same considerations apply as any regular mortgage.  Moneyfacts.co.uk has a range of guides on other types of mortgages from variable rate mortgages, fixed rate mortgages, discounted rate mortgages, first time buyer mortgages to offset mortgages, and buy to let mortgages. 
• You need to be as accurate as you can be when declaring your income, if you give an artificially high figure you could be committing mortgage fraud. A number of mortgage advisers have been struck off by the Financial Services Authority for this offence, and borrowers desperate to get on the housing ladder have come unstuck when they couldn't afford the repayments after inflating their income when they applied for the loan.  
• Make sure you understand the key factors to consider when you're sorting your mortgage out, these will help you to be certain that you're thinking about all the key questions to ask yourself.