Mortgage for self-employed / PAYE - help, please?

Larisa

Hello,

My partner and I need to apply for a mortgage and have unexpectedly hit serious problems. We're both employed - I'm employed full-time PAYE but he is in the TV and film industry and as such is sometimes self-employed and sometimes PAYE, as is the norm in his industry. He's been in the industry 26 years, has never been out of work for very long (aside from a savings-funded 10-month sabbatical he took three years ago), and has rather more earning potential than me. He also has a healthy savings account, and neither of us has any debt. We are putting down more than 50% of the value of the house, and we pass all of the affordability criteria of the new mortgage rules, so we thought we'd be in a sound position to get a mortgage at a competitive rate. However, we're struggling to get any mortgage at all, at any rate. The primary issue seems to be that most lenders will only look at self-employed income *or* PAYE, but not a combination of both.

This can't be that difficult, surely.... can it? Please, can anyone give any advice as to which lenders we might have the best shot with, or if there's a particular approach we should take? Any advice gratefully appreciated!

Dave_Ham

This should be achievable, although you are likely to require a broker to piece this together and present to a flexible lender in the right way.

Most lenders do not get this industry and the people in branch even less so.

Good luck

Larisa

Thanks, Dave. We have an IFA looking into this for us, but she doesn't have any particular knowledge of the entertainment industry. Where would we look to find a broker with the type of knowledge that would help us?

Dave_Ham

I do not think you necessarily need a specialist, just an experienced broker that knows who to talk to.

Does your partner not have any colleagues at work who have a mortgage broker that achieved finance for them, as most would have income of a similar nature.

Larisa

He's asking around at work, but none of his current colleagues have taken a mortgage out recently - perhaps because they're in the same situation!

appro

I was speaking with a friend recently who works for the Cumberland Building society. Apparently they're quite flexible when it comes to contract work, as many people in Cumbria are employed this way (especially at Sellafield & BAE Systems). All of their applications are assessed manually, so it's not a case of 'computer says no'. Their website says mortgage deals are only available to people who live within their branch area, but I believe they have a team who deal with applications from outside the area. Might be worth giving them a ring.

Larisa

Thank you, appro! Will follow that up...

Larisa

Does anyone else have any suggestions, please, while I'm following up the helpful advice from Dave and appro?

Thanks in advance!