One in three mortgage applicants face rejection from their lender, according to a new survey from KSEYE.

The bridging lender found that 32% of mortgage applicants faced at least one rejection from a mortgage lender.

Of those who didn’t get a mortgage offer, 44% said it was due to having an irregular income rather than a monthly pay-check. Three in 10 (30%) were self-employed when rejected for a mortgage.

More than a third (36%) of those who were turned down said that they were never told why their application had been unsuccessful. Almost half (46%) had received an agreement in principle from a mortgage provider.

A third of those rejected already owned another mortgaged property at the time they unsuccessfuly applied for another mortgage.

More flexibility required

Unsurprisingly, 59% of borrowers feel mortgage providers need to be more flexible in assessing applications to take into account their full financial circumstances.

And over a quarter (28%) are dissatisfied with the experience they’ve had with their current mortgage provider.

Kynan Benjamin, head of underwriting at KSEYE, said: “The inflexible application process that many lenders rely on is precluding some people from getting onto or moving up the property ladder. The self-employed, those working in the gig economy, and people with irregular sources of income are suffering the most.

“So, it is of little surprise that the specialist finance sector has seen an increase in applications in 2021. Those keen to purchase a property, particularly during the stamp duty holiday, have had to consider their options. For some, as the data shows, mortgages are not always viable, and so greater flexibility or a more bespoke option is required.”