Do you need an accountant to get a mortgage?

monster30

I have been self-employed for four years, and I do the books myself as they are very simple. I am hoping to buy a flat next year, and I've been wondering whether it would be an advantage in terms of the mortgage people to have an accountant certify (or whatever it is they do!) my accounts. Anyone know?

Cook_County

Accountants do not certify income for mortgage purposes.

kitty1801

Cook_county is right, an accountant cannot do this. You need to provide the mortgage lender with copies of your last 3 (or however many they ask for) self assessment calculations (also known as SA302). These would have been sent to you when your tax returns were processed or if you no longer have them, ask your tax office for copies.

hopon

If the accounts haven't been signed off by a qualified accountant the mortgage company will normally be happy with copies of the returns submitted and the tax bills they have generated

monster30

Thanks for the replies. I read somewhere that if you had accountant-certified accounts then you might not even have to get a self-cert mortgage, you could just get a regular one, but according to the replies here that can't be true - is that right? I just want to be sure that I'm not saving a few hundred quid on the accountant to lose myself thousands of pounds on getting a better mortgage.

kitty1801

Maybe you should check with your bank to see exactly what proof they would need? Surely they can just let you know and I am sure they won't bite!

Pennywise

If you have three years worth of accounts which have been prepared/signed off by a qualified accountant, and which show a consistent level of profit adequate to support a normal mortgage, you shouldn't need a self-cert mortgage.

Self-certs are mainly for those who havn't been in business long enough, don't have an accountant, or don't have three years of high enough profits.

The boundaries have been softened in the past few years because of the lenders tripping up over themselves to lend money, so "accountants certifications" have been less of a necessity, but with the credit crunch, we are already seeing some lenders wanting accountants' certificates again.

Cook_County

All of the professional Institutes have standard wording telling the lender to make their own enquiries.

The accountants insurers will not cover the accountant if s/he uses any other wording.

Accountants in the States are frequently sued by lenders if the borrower has disappeared & the property value has dropped. I would not want to be that person here in the UK!