Self-Employed and rapidly losing hope of getting a mortgage

brownbagsFTB

@Wilson777 not as yet. The valuation’s booked for tomorrow so I don’t think it’s gone to the underwriters yet. It’s definitely worth getting a broker anyway if you’ve had one declined. In case it’s useful for you to do, I did a little mortgage comparison search on Experian last night to see which lenders are likely to lend to me with my circumstances, Accord came up as one of the most likely so I’m feeling more positive. I’ll keep you posted on my application anyway, good luck! 

Wilson777

@brownbagsFTB thanks called Halifax up ,so did the broker they refused to give explanation about the decline 

brownbagsFTB

@Wilson777 that’s really unreasonable. They’re a law unto themselves sometimes! I hope you get somewhere soon with it 

brownbagsFTB

Just updating on my progress for anyone following: had the 2nd valuation today with Accord and the house has been downvalued by £20K 🙈 the previous valuation with Nationwide matched the offer price of £220,000. My broker’s trying to appeal it (if it was a desktop valuation) or potentially switch to a 90% LTV so there’s less of a deficit to make up in cash. The process of buying a house, is a succession of pitfalls! 

Greymug

brownbagsFTB said:

 Has anyone had luck getting a mortgage when self-employed? What hurdles did you have to leap over to get one? I trust my broker and I know he'll do his best but I'm losing the will.

Was in a similar situation a couple of months ago and it did not end well.

Joint application: my partner has a permanent job earning 30k a year. I'm a self-employed IT contractor. I invoiced 80k in 2019 and in 2020 at the time of the mortgage application in October I had already invoiced 104k. Zero gaps between contracts. Not 1 day out of work.

We applied for a 85% ltv mortgage and we asked for WAY less than what we could have (asked for a 250k mortgage give or take). Our broker (first mortgage) advised us to go with NatWest as they had good rates and, unlike other lenders, they didn't have any requirements around my contract (been told, for example, that some lenders only accept applications if you have at least 3 months left in your contract). We had our application rejected because apparently "my contract was approaching to an end and I should have provided either an extension or proof of another contract kicking in".

Very bizarre situation if you ask me with the lender clearly not understanding the nature of self-employment, and also afterwards with the broker going back to his own words and denying saying something he actually said (and put in writing....lol).

Anyways, it ended with no mortgage, no house, 2 solicitors and 1 seller understandably annoyed, and most importantly with NatWest and the broker going straight into my black books. Will never deal with those charlatans again.

K_S

brownbagsFTB said:

Just updating on my progress for anyone following: had the 2nd valuation today with Accord and the house has been downvalued by £20K 🙈 the previous valuation with Nationwide matched the offer price of £220,000. My broker’s trying to appeal it (if it was a desktop valuation) or potentially switch to a 90% LTV so there’s less of a deficit to make up in cash. The process of buying a house, is a succession of pitfalls! 

@brownbagsFTB I'm sorry to hear that. Unfortunately valuation isn't an exact science, hence two different valuations less than a month apart! Did Accord issue a reduced offer? Is there any chance of the seller budging a bit?

brownbagsFTB

@Greymug that’s horrendous. I’m so sorry you lost the house. It’s really strange that with the two of you and your earnings that they’d turn you down. I’m hoping my broker’s gone with the right lender this time with Accord but I never realised how difficult buying a house would be when self-employed. Hope you manage to work it out for the next house 

brownbagsFTB

@K_S I’m not too worried just yet, my broker’s amending my mortgage to a 90% LTV so I’ll hopefully still be able to do it! 

K_S

brownbagsFTB said:

@K_S I’m not too worried just yet, my broker’s amending my mortgage to a 90% LTV so I’ll hopefully still be able to do it! 

@brownbagsFTB Happy to hear that you have the ~£7k extra cash to put towards the deposit to cover the remaining downval shortfall after upping the mortgage from 85-90%. Good luck!

brownbagsFTB

I got my mortgage offer today!! 90% LTV with Accord and I'm absolutely over the moon. Thanks K_S and everyone else who offered me advice. Just goes to show it can be done if you're self-employed!