Self-employed
Self-employed income, presented properly.
Your business is doing fine. The paperwork just doesn't say so in the language a lender reads.
Why lenders hesitate
A salaried applicant hands over a pay stub and a letter. That's it. Self-employed income arrives as tax returns, financial statements and notices of assessment — and good accounting works against you here, because everything you legitimately wrote down to reduce tax also reduces the income a lender will count.
The result is a strange situation where the better your accountant, the harder your mortgage.
How I work it
The work is showing an underwriter the earnings behind the return — add-backs, retained earnings, the shape of the business rather than a single year's bottom line.
Lenders also differ enormously here. Some barely look at self-employed files; others build their entire business around them. Knowing which is which is most of the job.
This is for you if
- You're incorporated, a sole proprietor, or a contractor
- Your tax return understates what you actually earn
- You've been told you don't have enough 'provable' income
- You've been self-employed for less than two years
Think this is your situation?
Send me the details and I'll tell you straight away where you stand — including if the answer is that it needs work first.