Mortgage rejections 'on the increase'

Date:Friday 17th April 2009
Author: Max Freedman

The number of mortgage rejections has risen over the course of the last two years, new research indicates.

Conducted by moneysupermarket.com, the study suggested that such rejections have increase fourfold in two years.

According to the price comparison site, roughly 2.3 per cent of vetted mortgage applications were rejected in 2007, whereas 8.8 per cent of applications have been rejected so far this year.

Commenting on the findings, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Lending criteria has become too strict - even vetted applications that we would expect to be accepted without a hitch are being rejected."

She added that any blemishes on consumers' credit histories will make finding a mortgage increasingly difficult.

Ms Cummings went on to point out that missed repayments remain on consumers' personal files for six years.

Last month, Robert Sinclair, director of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, said people in the UK need greater assistance in order to secure mortgages.