The research also reveals that a quarter of female home buyers (25%) say they have intentionally hidden their family plans from lenders, fearing they will miss out on the best mortgage rate or even be rejected.
Following the Mortgage Market Review in April 2014 and the introduction of stricter mortgage eligibility criteria, lenders may refuse to grant a mortgage if they believe an applicant is unable to meet the repayments due to an expected drop in income. But the perception that having a family may impact their ability to get the best mortgage deal is driving many women to withhold information from lenders during the application process, according to the new survey of 2,000 female mortgage applicants.
Of those confessing to hiding their plans from their lender, three quarters (77%) did so for fear of their application being rejected or missing out on the best rate. Unfortunately though, the pressure of concealing this information is having a significant emotional impact. 71% of women who concealed their family plans from lenders experienced high levels of stress and anxiety during the mortgage application process.
In order to cope with any drop in income, almost half of women (48%) save up before going on maternity leave, in order to cover monthly mortgage repayments and other essential household bills and 79% of women believe that savings should be taken into account when applying for a mortgage.
Overall, over one in four (27%) women think the current affordability criteria is out of step with modern family finances – but, in the meantime, over one in ten (11%) would put their family plans on hold to secure a mortgage on their dream home.
Tashema Jackson, money expert at uSwitch.com, said:
“There is a strong feeling that mortgage lenders, rightly or wrongly, may be penalising women for starting a family. A worrying outcome is that some female mortgage applicants are feeling forced to withhold information from potential lenders. Not only can this have severe implications in terms of invalidating any mortgage offers, but it is causing stress and anxiety for home buyers at a critical time in their life.
“While it’s vital that lenders help people only borrow within their means and ensure they can afford future payments, it’s not fair for lenders to make blanket assumptions. Those planning a family may be able to manage their repayments even with a drop in household income, thanks to careful planning or savings. We believe lenders should be making decisions based on a broader picture of an applicant’s financial situation, including the amount that they have in savings, rather than on assumptions about a woman’s personal circumstances or intentions."
