Bounce back the Self-Employed with Bluestone Mortgages

Bluestone Mortgages updates lending criteria to support self-employed borrowers impacted by Covid-19

• Bluestone will now assess whether self-employed applicants have returned to their pre-crisis earnings to determine their eligibility for a loan

• The lender expects demand from the self-employed community for tailored lending to increase as the Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed

• Mortgage availability for self-employed borrowers has tapered since the onset of Covid-19 as lenders tighten lending criteria

As England moves into stage two of the Government’s roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions, UK specialist lender, Bluestone Mortgages, has today announced an update to its credit policy that will provide further support to self-employed borrowers who have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The update will apply to applicants who have experienced more than a 10% reduction in business income as a result of the pandemic, but who have since seen their earnings return to pre-pandemic levels.

For self-employed borrowers in this position, Bluestone will use applicants’ 2019/2020 income where they can demonstrate earnings in the most recent three months have returned to that level.  Bluestone will also consider how the applicant’s business was affected by the pandemic, the sustainability of the applicant’s income and whether any financial support from the Government has been received.

Bluestone expects there to be a rise in demand for tailored lending from self-employed borrowers over the long-term as many in this community may find that they are otherwise disenfranchised from mainstream lending channels. For example, as a direct result of Covid-19, Bluestone’s application levels increased by 50% between July and December 2020 compared to the previous year, indicating the demand for tailored lending that could be seen in the future.

Today’s news reaffirms Bluestone’s ongoing commitment to support borrowers who have experienced a change in circumstance but have subsequently recovered – something which is particularly pertinent during the Covid-19 crisis.

Bluestone Mortgages is an intermediary-only lender, serving self-employed borrowers and those with a history of complex credit in the UK.

As a specialist lender, we are acutely aware of the hardships that the self-employed community has faced during the Covid-19 crisis, and we remain committed to providing these borrowers with a lending solution that will better meet their needs. There’s no reason why borrowers who have recovered financially from a life event and are therefore perfectly eligible for a loan should be locked out of lending – a fact which has driven Bluestone’s announcement today.

Knowledge of and access to the support available will be crucial for self-employed borrowers as the crisis continues, and we hope that today’s news will be met with open arms by those individuals that might have otherwise been unaware of the lending open to them at this time.

Reece Beddall, Head of Sales & Marketing at Bluestone Mortgages