Want to get a mortgage but partner is self employed

[Deleted User]

My partner and I are looking at buying our first house this year however I am concerned that we will struggle to get the bank to lend us money as for two reasons - one he is self employed and two he has got a record on his credit history.

He was forced to go self employed by his boss about 18 months ago, just so his boss could save money. He is basically still an employee as he gets the same amount of money each week, he still has a boss and he does not run his own business – the only difference is he has to invoice his boss for his wages and pays a tax bill each year.

With regards to the credit history, he basically brought a scooter some years ago and he got put on the incorrect payment plan, so he was paying a certain amount each month whereas he unknowingly should have been paying more, so it wasn’t really his fault. It all got a bit messy but it is all sorted out now.

Considering the above would this affect what the bank would lend him, and would they lend to him at all? I have heard that self employed people need to provide 3 years proof of accounts, which would be an obstacle for us as he has only been self employed for 18 months.

In terms of my own situation, I am employed and earn £18,900 a year (before tax) and have got £20,000 in savings. No bad credit history or outstanding debts. I don’t even own a credit card.

Any help/advice would be appreciated. We have an appointment with Santander next week to go in and discuss figures etc.

Dave_Ham

Santander are not the most flexible, but firstly you need to understand the damage the Scooter has done to his credit files.

Obtain Experian, Equifax and Call Credit reports and understand if they have defaulted, missed payments, AP payment plan or how they have treated this.

Pay no attention to any scores they may provide, the £2 ones are sufficient.

kingstreet

Do not have speculative credit searches done by a lender "so we can see if it passes" as you could end up with multiple searches and no chance of a mortgage.

Get your credit files and talk to a good independent or whole market broker.

Equifax

https://www.econsumer.equifax.co.uk/consumer/uk/order.ehtml?prod_cd=UKSCR

Experian

http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html#orderReport


CallCredit

https://www.callcredit.co.uk/stat-report-online/index.php?action=basket_add&tpl=setRegister&package=63&amount=1&mode=clear

ACG

To be honest i wouldnt waste my time even going to Santander - theyre so inflexible theyre a pain in the backside.

Get your credit files - check the reports, if theyre showing adverse then it makes it more difficult.

How much does your partner earn?
How much are you looking to purchase for?

With a £20k deposit, then £200k purchase price is going to be the limit, if you have adverse then your probably looking at less than that.

[Deleted User]

Thank you for your replies. This is much appreciated

My partners earns £400 a week, but from November-March he only earns half this, but is happy to take on an extra job during the winter. He also has to make sure he saves for his tax bill.

We were looking at properties for around the 150-160k mark. My parents have also said they would be happy to lend us an extra few thousand towards our deposit if it helps.

If we get hold of his credit reports, then what should we do with them?

Thanks

ACG

Go and see a mortgage advisor.
There are a few issues that need looking at by the sounds of it. You will only be able to get generic help on here, its a bit difficult to give specific help without seeing everything we would usually need.

For mortgage advisors, whole of market or independent would be best.