Self Employed Mortgages in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury

WHAT PROBLEMS DO YOU FACE IF YOU ARE SELF-EMPLOYED? AND WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING THE BEST MORTGAGE?

Self-employment can make it much more difficult to obtain a mortgage, especially in the start-up years.
If you are planning to leave a steady job and go self-employed, it is usually a good idea to get your mortgage secured before you make the change.

We do have access to lenders who will accommodate businesses with only one year's accounts, but for many businesses the first year accounts may show a loss or break-even at best, so plan the timing of your mortgage application with care because lenders will look at the net profit of your business to decide your income.

If you are trading as a limited company, the lenders will still treat you as being self-employed so there is no point in paying yourself a large salary unless there are profits to cover it.

For more established businesses, including limited companies, different lenders will apply their own various definitions of income or profit, but we can help you identify those more appropriate to your business.

It will also be helpful if you can demonstrate a level or increasing level of profit, although we appreciate that is sometimes easier said than done.

Always use a qualified accountant for preparation of your accounts, or you will find that they are not acceptable to a mortgage lender.

Keep your tax affairs up to date and do not leave the preparation of tax returns until just before the HMRC deadline. We will always need up-to-date self-assessment figures in support of a mortgage application.

HOW CAN STRICTLY MORTGAGES HELP?

Our Principal, John Steel, has worked for many years as a Chartered Accountant, and we therefore have a very good knowledge of self-employed accounts and tax structures.

We maintain our own specialised database of lenders who are happy to accommodate self-employed applications, and where necessary we know which ones will be prepared to work on the basis of your latest accounts without averaging down for previous years.

We also know which lenders are prepared to take into account retained company profits where they have not been paid out in the form of director's salary or dividends.

Every business is different, so outline your requirements on the Enquiry form below and we will advise you what can be done and what further information we need to support a mortgage application.