Those within the UK housing market are urging potential house buyers to be careful of what you purchase prior to applying for a mortgage.  From the smallest non-necessities to the larger have-to-buys, purchases will be heavily scrutinised by mortgage lenders in an effort to prevent anything comparable to 2008 from happening.  Times have now changed since that forgettable year and mortgage lenders are being held to new standards which have been installed to prevent any financial issues from popping up again.

Potential buyers are being questioned about purchases such as eating out and wine buying.  They are also quizzed on hobbies such as betting on horses.

First time buyers need to especially beware as lenders are not going to go anywhere near the edge of spreading themselves too thin for any borrower.

Lenders are advising all potential buyers to kurb spending about ninety days prior to actually applying for a mortgage.  This will enable borrowers to get a handle on any indescretionary spending and look better on paper to lenders who are seeing them as a risk factor for years to come.

Jonathan Harris with mortgage broker Anderson Harris commented on the ninety day period, saying: “Our advice is to cut back for three months before applying for a mortgage.  Pay off debts and simply spend less.

“In the past, borrowers reined back their spending once they had a mortgage and had to pay it each month; now you should act as though you already have that commitment in place and reduce your spending accordingly.”