Anybody who has applied for a new loan or mortgage in the past twelve months will know that it has become more difficult to be accepted for any type of finance since the start of the credit crunch, as lenders across the market are withdrawing many of their products and imposing ever tighter lending criteria on the range of loans and mortgages which they do have remaining.

But the extent of these loan restrictions and the effect they are having on borrowers is only just becoming apparent. According to the latest statistics from GE Money Home Lending, as many as 3.4 million people have been declined for a mortgage or loan application at some point in the last eighteen months.

The research also revealed that over 450,000 borrowers applied for a loan on more than four occasions before they were accepted and 30,000 individuals were forced to make up to eight attempts before finding a lender who would grant them a loan.

In addition to these figures, 412,000 people were unable to obtain any type of loan, regardless of the number of attempts made. This is, of course, a vicious circle for many loan applicants, as each failed application has a negative impact on a borrower’s credit rating and therefore makes it even harder to be accepted for a loan on subsequent applications and highlights the need for potential borrowers to apply more carefully and use specialist brokers and lenders who are more likely to be able to help them.

A spokesman for GE Money said “with criteria changing regularly and the risk of decline increasing all the time, it is even more important that borrowers looking to obtain a mortgage use reputable mortgage professionals with broad experience, knowledge and systems at their disposal which will increase the chances of the borrower getting the deal they need. In addition there are a number of dedicated specialist lenders with a strong pedigree who may be able to meet borrowers needs.”