If you are self employed and cannot prove your income, and are looking to take out a non status mortgage you will need to know the numbers. How much will it cost you to get one of these deals? How much can you borrow? What will you save? Is it the cheapest option? Read on to find out if a non status mortgage is going to give you the right answers.

Unfortunately, a non status mortgage isn't the cheapest mortgage out there. If you cannot prove your income, then you are a higher risk borrower. As a result, lenders are going to want more money to offer you a non status mortgage. According to the latest best buy tables, the average headline rate is around 6.7%, compared with the average prime fixed rates deals, which is at 5.63%***.

There are also bigger fees attached to a non status mortgage - when taking out a mortgage, it's best to look it as a whole, rather than just a headline rate. Currently, fees are ranging from anything from £599 and 1% of the whole mortgage***.

Lenders also tend to demand a higher down payment with a non status mortgage. They need to limit their risks when lending to someone who cannot entirely prove how much they will be earning. So although there are lenders who will offer a non status mortgage with only 10% of the home's value, usually self cert lenders will demand between 20% and 30% for the loan to value amount. And with the UK average house price now at just under £200,000**, a non status borrower may need anything from £20,000 to be able to take out a non status mortgage.

But being a self cert borrower, you can borrow a whole lot more than you thought. Because you are maybe self employed, or have more than one income stream, you have the potential to earn more than a status borrower - so expect to be able to borrow a bigger mortgage with a non status mortgage.

And the self cert market is huge - 12%* of the population can be classified as ‘non status' and would therefore need a non status mortgage. This means that there are a lot of products out there and a lot of lenders vying for the custom of all those millions of self cert Brits - so competition is rife and there is the chance to find a bargain amongst these higher price products.

Also, because the market is so big and so competitive there are a lot of experts working to offer the cheapest deals. Brokers are able to source cheaper deals from lenders who only deal with intermediaries - specialist lenders who have expert systems that can offer a cheaper non status mortgage.

So although the non status mortgage numbers may seem a little less inviting than some of the prime mortgages out there, there is still hope for the millions of non status borrowers in the UK to find a good deal. And with sensible plans, some good advice and a little help a non status mortgage could be a blessing, not a burden.

*Office of National Statistics ** Halifax Hosue Price Index, March 2008 *** Moneyfacts.co.uk Best Buy Tables, May 2008