We’re seeing more competition amongst lenders, as the UK property market wakes up. Some are upping their special offers. Others, like Santander are expanding their ranges to cover borrowers they have generally shied away from. But who is offering mortgages to hipsters?
Well, Alex Hammond of Kensington thinks not enough. By hipsters, Hammond is talking about creative and techy types. And it turns out that the creative sector is quite large and growing rapidly. It created over 750,000 new jobs in 2012 alone.
Why is it that people working in a fast-growing corner struggle to find mortgages? Well, about half of them – according to Alex – are contractors and freelancers. As he puts it:
“So we have a sector emerging that is growing strongly, features occupations that are heavily in demand and where individuals are able to charge a premium day rate. However, because of the contractual nature of their income, these individuals could struggle to get the mortgage they deserve from the high street.”
While the article is quite London-centric, the story is bigger. Cambridge has a thriving creative economy, and is home to tech giants and startups alike. We have worked with freelancers and contractors ourselves. From our experience, we can say that it is definitely time for lenders to look into their product ranges and find a place for people in the growing, creative sector.
If you’re a contractor or freelancer after a mortgage, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line.
