In May, there was an increase in brokers who advise on residential mortgages searching for criteria related to delayed or missed payments. The platform also picked up on a trend of searches connected to the maximum age a borrower can be at the end of the mortgage term, suggesting that people were getting on to the housing ladder later in life.  

It also indicated that people are looking to extend their mortgage terms to improve affordability. 

The term ‘self-employed – one year’s accounts’ made up the top five searches in May for the first time since December. 

Knowledge Bank said there had also been a rise in searches for ‘joint borrower, sole proprietor’ mortgages. 

Across the buy-to-let sector, the search term ‘no requirement to be a homeowner’ indicated that people were looking for other ways of getting onto the property ladder. 

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Additionally, searches for ‘holiday let’ were among the top five for the first time since October last year. 

 

Alternative solutions 

In the second charge market, there was a rise in searches for people looking for alternative means to address their financial challenges. 

Searches which made the top five in May included queries for people seeking additional finance while having arrears or defaults. There was also an increase in searches for lenders that accept people with debt management plans. 

Within this market, the top search for the month was ‘maximum LTV’ which Knowledge Bank said suggested that people were looking for help through additional borrowing. 

Nicola Firth (pictured), CEO of Knowledge Bank, said: “As borrowers face the burden of increasing living expenses and often rising debts, many are crying out for help. Others are being hit especially hard if they are coming off a fixed rate mortgage at sub-two per cent and facing the prospect of moving on to one that could be three times higher.  

“Despite this, it is clear that some are trying every means possible to get on the housing ladder, from taking a ‘joint borrower, sole proprietor’ mortgage, to extending payments over a longer term and even looking at buying a rental property before their own home.” 

She added: “The current economic climate and outlook, again point to the importance and value of mortgage brokers to help both existing and potential borrowers. At the same time, we can see just how challenging the market is for brokers, with the need to navigate complex requirements, ever changing rates, and complex criteria.  

“Fortunately, that’s where Knowledge Bank is here to help with our technology playing a pivotal role in helping brokers and their customers.”