Calculating your affordability is a great start, but lenders look at self-employed income in many different ways. To get a more accurate picture, choose the guide below that best describes how you work.
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Fundamental guides for self-employed borrowers
CIS Workers & Subcontractors
Many lenders can calculate your borrowing based on your gross day rate rather than just your net profit to increase your mortgage offer.
Limited Company Directors
Some lenders can consider your retained profits alongside salary and dividends to help maximise your personal borrowing.
Only 1 year’s accounts?
We work with specialist lenders who can secure a mortgage based on just 12 months of trading history.
IT & day-rate contractors
Lenders can often use your contract rate to prove affordability, which is far more effective than using a standard tax return.
Sole trader mortgages
How sole traders can demonstrate affordability to lenders.
Zero-hour contract mortgages
Get advice if you work on zero-hour contracts and want a mortgage.
Frequently asked questions
The amount you could borrow will depend on the lender used. This is because each lender has their own way of assessing and calculating your affordability. A lender will look at your income and expenses, which will help them determine what you can comfortably afford.
When you are self-employed some lenders will look at your latest year’s tax return to help them decide. Although, there are others that will look at the past two to three years and then take an average.
As a general rule the larger your deposit and greater your income, the more you can borrow. However, if you are seen as a lending risk because of bad credit, it could reduce your borrowing capabilities.
To give a rough guide, you could borrow up to 4.5x your annual income. This is very similar to what someone in conventional employment could borrow. If you want to discuss your mortgage options, reach out today.
Again, as with your borrowing capabilities, your deposit amount will depend on the lender.
Nowadays you’ll usually need a minimum of 5–10% of the property’s market value. Although, the average deposit in the UK is closer to 20%.
This is due to the fact that a larger deposit allows you to access more favourable deals with better rates, saving you money in the long run due to the saving on interest.
To read more about deposits, you can read our complete self-employed guide.
Lenders usually require you to have been self-employed for at least a year, as they need to look at your accounts during their affordability assessment. If this is the case, they will also assess your employment before you turned self-employed.
Keep in mind that certain lenders may require 2 or 3 years’ worth of accounts.
However, just because you have only been trading for a year doesn’t mean you could borrow less. The income you receive will play a large part in what you could borrow.