Client
A single applicant buying his first home, holding two jobs. One employed, working remotely for a family company. The other self-employed, driving. He had a good deposit saved.
Objective
To secure a first mortgage using both income streams, despite neither having the track record most lenders require.
Situation
Three separate problems, and each one has a standard lender response that ends in a decline.
The employed role had been held for roughly six months, and it was with a family company. Lenders treat both facts with suspicion, and together they invite the assumption that the job was created to support the mortgage application rather than the other way round.
The self-employed driving income went back about eighteen months. The conventional requirement is two years of provable accounts, so this fell short of what most lenders will assess at all.
Then the move. He was relocating to a city a long way from where he was living, which raises two questions an underwriter has to answer. Can the self-employed work be replicated in the new location, and is the employed role genuinely remote or does it depend on being nearby.
Challenges
- Six months in the employed role, and with a family company
- Eighteen months of self-employed income against a two-year norm
- Two income sources both needing to be accepted in full
- A relocation raising questions over whether either role survives the move
What We Did
Nothing about this case needed an exception. It needed the lenders whose published criteria already covered each problem.
Employment with a family business is not a barrier everywhere. Some lenders assess the role on its own terms provided the employment is genuine and evidenced through payroll in the normal way, rather than discounting it on the relationship alone.
On the self-employed side, a group of lenders treat one year of accounts as sufficient and market it as a point of difference. That turned an eighteen-month trading history from a disqualifier into something assessable.
The relocation was handled by choosing a lender that takes a practical view of a long-distance move where the plan holds together. Remote employment that is genuinely remote, and self-employed work that transfers to a new city, are both reasonable positions. The point was finding the lender willing to reach it.
Solution
The case went to a lender accepting family-company employment, one year of self-employed accounts, and the relocation, with both income sources counted in full.
Outcome
A full mortgage offer, issued quickly.
Conclusion
All three obstacles here are routine declines at most lenders, and any one of them would have been enough on its own. None reflected genuine risk. What resolved the case was knowing which lenders had already built that latitude into their criteria, rather than trying to argue a mainstream lender out of its rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get a mortgage working for a family business?
Yes, though some lenders apply extra scrutiny or decline these applications outright. Others treat the role on the same basis as any employment, provided it is genuine and evidenced through payroll and tax records in the usual way.
Can you get a mortgage with only one year of self-employed accounts?
Yes, a number of specialist lenders will lend on a single year of accounts. Most of the market wants two years or more, so the lender pool narrows considerably, and a stronger deposit generally helps the case.
Will lenders count two different income sources?
Many will, and some will use 100% of both employed and self-employed income. Others cap or discount the secondary source, which is why the choice of lender changes how much can actually be borrowed.
Does moving to another part of the country affect a mortgage application?
It can, because an underwriter needs to be satisfied the income survives the move. Remote employment and portable self-employed work are both acceptable to lenders that take a practical view, provided the plan is coherent and evidenced.
Final Thoughts
Short employment history, limited self-employed accounts and a long-distance move are each common enough on their own. Arriving together, they rule out most of the high street. The lenders that accommodate all three exist, and identifying them is what turns this from a decline into an offer.
UK Mortgage Broker is a whole-of-market broker, directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Circumstances vary and the result here reflects this client alone. It is not an indication of terms available to others. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Call 01628 969 500 or email info@uk-mortgagebroker.co.uk to speak with a qualified adviser.
Related Pages
- Residential Mortgages – Advice on purchases, remortgages and complex income for UK homeowners.
- Self-Employed Mortgage – How lenders assess trading history, accounts and income for self-employed applicants.
- First Time Buyer Mortgage – Deposit, affordability and the application process for a first purchase.
- How Lenders Check Income – The documents lenders request and how each income type is verified.
- Can I Get a Mortgage – The criteria lenders assess before approving an application.