Lenders limiting flexibility making it harder to get a mortgage: report

Large groups of Netherlands residents will find it more challenging to get a mortgage because several mortgage lenders are severely limiting the options for customization, mortgage advisors told De Telegraaf. People who do not meet the standard conditions will therefore have less luck.

Until now, lenders used customization to help people with complex financial situations get a mortgage. But the Dutch Authority on Financial Markets (AFM) put an end to that in a critical letter calling on lenders to use stricter rules, according to the newspaper.

This will particularly affect people with complex financial situations, like newly divorced people, self-employed, or recently retired people, according to the mortgage advisors. Anyone else who does not fit into the standard conditions for a mortgage application will also have a more challenging time.