Self-employed mortgage advice
Sole trader, limited company director, contractor, freelancer or LLP partner. We work the case on the income lenders actually use, not a stripped-down PAYE figure.
Self-employed mortgages are not harder to place, they are placed differently. Lender choice does the heavy lifting. The same person can borrow 30 to 50 percent more or less depending on which lender is approached first, because each lender uses a different method to read self-employed income. We work with sole traders, limited company directors, contractors, freelancers, and LLP partners across the full set of structures, and we pick the lender method that maximises your borrowing on your numbers.
The self-employed routes we cover
Pick the closest match to how you trade. The mortgage answer changes depending on the structure and the lender method that fits your numbers.
Sole trader mortgages
You file a self-assessment, you draw what the business earns. SA302 net profit drives borrowing.
See sole traderLimited company director
Salary plus dividend, or salary plus retained profit. The right lender method can make a material difference to the borrowing figure.
See directorContractor mortgages
Day rate annualised, on the right contractor lender. Treats the contract value as gross income.
See contractorIT contractor mortgages
Software, infrastructure, security and PM contractors. The deepest part of the contractor lender pool.
See IT contractorFreelancer mortgages
Designer, writer, consultant or developer. Sole trader or limited company, lender chosen on trend.
See freelancerOne year of accounts
A specialist tier will look at one full SA302 or one set of company accounts. Slightly higher rates, real cases.
See one yearTwo years of accounts
The mainstream self-employed tier. Most suitable rates, broadest lender pool, choice of method (average, lower, latest).
See two yearsLLP partner mortgages
Lawyer, accountant, surveyor or consultant in a Limited Liability Partnership. Profit-share lender pool real, narrow, well-trodden.
See LLP partnerDocuments needed
The practical evidence list, broken out by structure. SA302, accounts, contract, accountant reference.
See documentsHow income is calculated
Two-year average, lower of two, latest year only. Salary plus dividend or salary plus retained profit. The technical breakdown.
See income methodSelf-employed first-time buyer
Buying a first home as a self-employed applicant. FTB pool plus self-employed income method, normal SDLT relief.
See FTB self-employedDirector on PAYE
A director on payroll, not a director-shareholder. Lenders treat you as employed, with one or two technical notes.
See director PAYE
Your accounts, read properly
Self-employed does not mean second-class
Sole trader, director, contractor or freelancer, the right lender reads your income the generous way. We pick that lender before anyone runs a credit check.
Book a quick 15-minute callSelf-employed mortgage questions we hear a lot
Are mortgages really harder for self-employed applicants?
Not harder, placed differently. The right lender treats your real income properly rather than stripping it down to a small PAYE salary plus dividend. We work with the lenders that get this right.
How many years of accounts do I need?
Two years is the high-street standard. One year is placeable on a smaller specialist tier, often where you converted from employment in the same field. Three years opens the broadest part of the market and often the most suitable rates.
I am a limited company director. Will lenders use my dividend or my retained profit?
Both methods exist. High-street lenders typically use salary plus declared dividend (method one). A specialist tier uses salary plus share of company net profit (method two). Method two often produces materially more borrowing for directors who retain profit.
I am a contractor. Will lenders use my day rate or my dividend?
A specialist contractor lender pool uses the day rate annualised over a set number of working weeks. They treat the result as gross income, ignoring the small salary plus dividend you actually take. This usually produces materially more borrowing than a standard director assessment.
My profit dropped this year. Is the case dead?
Not necessarily. A small group of lenders use lower-of-two-years, which suits a falling profile. Others average. We pick a lender whose method takes the case in stride.
I am buying jointly with an employed partner. How does that work?
Lenders combine the two incomes. The employed side runs on payslip evidence, the self-employed side runs on SA302 or accounts evidence, and the borrowing figure is the sum. We package both for the underwriter cleanly.
Will my rate be higher than for an employed applicant?
Often the same, on a clean two-year-accounts case at a high-street lender. Specialist routes (one year of accounts, contractor day rate, method-two director) sometimes carry a small premium of 0.2 to 0.6 percentage points. We model the trade-off.
Related guides
Three reads worth your time before you submit a self-employed mortgage application.
The mortgage application process
From AIP through underwriting to mortgage offer. What happens at each stage, and what we do for you.
Read guideHow much can I borrow?
Income multiples, affordability stress tests, and what self-employed cases produce on different lender methods.
Read guideStamp duty: the complete guide
First-time buyer relief thresholds, the 5 percent additional-property surcharge, and worked examples.
Read guideWhat our clients say
Real reviews from clients across Romford and Essex, verified on Google.
Rated 5.0 out of 5 from 92 Google reviews Read the reviews on Google
Talk to a real self-employed mortgage adviser
A quick 15-minute call tells you which lender method maximises your borrowing on your numbers, and what the realistic next step looks like. No pressure, no panel, no call centre.
We aim to return your call as quickly as we can. Mon to Fri 9am to 5pm. Weekend appointments available on request.