Many mortgage advisers not qualified to help freelancers: Bank assoc.

According to the Dutch Association of Banks, it is easier for freelancers and self-employed people to get a mortgage loan than they might think. But according to Arjen Vrolijk of ZZP Nederland, bank employees and mortgage advisers do not always have the right knowledge to analyse their financial statements The Dutch Association of Banks (NVB) has launched an information point where freelancers and self-employed people can get information regarding the rules of mortgage loans. The website includes a checklist that freelancers can use to prepare themselves for a mortgage application and thereby be better prepared for the talk at the bank. "Strengthening the starting position of the self-employed and flexible workers with the desire to buy a home is one of the main objectives of the banks' information point." says Chris Buijink of the NVB. According to Buijink, more freelancers may be able to get a mortgage loan than people might think. Banks are allowed to deviate from the rule that a stable income is determined on the basis of the average income that a freelancer earned for the past three years, if there is sufficient security in a different way. Banks are, for example, allowed to rely on the income from the last year or two years and a forecast of future income, which is supported with information about the freelancer's financial situation, education, work history and potential for the future. Vrolijk believes it is very important that freelancers themselves be aware of the possibilities, but the problem also lies with the banks. "We also see that bank employees can not always judge the situation of freelancers and mortgage advisers do not always have the right knowledge to read financial statements correctly and thus properly interpret the numbers in order to prepare an application correctly." He told BNR.