Education key to helping the BFS client

The realities of lending can be difficult for a business-for-self client, which opens the door for mortgage brokers to offer their most valued commodity – advice

Stricter lending guidelines have thrown up obstacles for BFS clients looking for a loan from a prime lender, and brokers are being asked to step up their game to not only facilitate these loans, but educate the client on the role of the alternative lending sector.

“BFS clients need to appreciate the current environment and be realistic in terms of their rate expectations,” says Gleb Ioussoufovitch, director of sales and marketing for XCEED Mortgage Corp. “This is a great opportunity for mortgage brokers to fill in the void and approach self-employed consumers with solutions offered by alternative lenders.”

Lenders who are willing to look at the whole picture – not just personal income – have provided a welcome source of lending for BFS clients. But these clients need to understand that they should be realistic when providing their numbers.

“They need to be prepared to provide paperwork to back up the income of their business if this is what is used to qualify the deal,” says Ioussoufovitch. “In situations when alternative lenders ask BFS borrowers to provide their income estimates such borrowers have to be realistic in terms of numbers that they put in the applications.”

To learn more about the opportunities for brokers in the BFS space, look in the next issue of CMP magazine.