Mortgage Questions, Answered Plainly
Structured answers to the most common questions about specialist mortgages — written by a qualified adviser, not generated by an algorithm.
Income type & employment
Contractor Mortgages
Day rate assessment, contract length requirements, and which lenders accept contractor income.
CIS Worker Mortgages
How lenders assess CIS gross earnings and why your SA302 likely understates borrowing power.
Self-Employed Mortgages
How many years of accounts you need, which income figures lenders use, and common pitfalls.
Sole Trader Mortgages
Net profit vs gross income, averaging rules, and how one strong year can help or hurt you.
Umbrella Company Mortgages
PAYE payslip vs gross contract rate — and which lenders look beyond the payslip.
Day Rate Contractor Mortgages
Day rate × 5 days × 46 weeks: how specialist lenders annualise your income.
IR35 & Mortgage Eligibility
Inside vs outside IR35, and how each affects the income lenders will recognise.
Limited Company Director Mortgages
Salary + dividends + retained profit — which combinations lenders accept and how.
Director Retained Profit Mortgages
How to use net profit retained in your company to support a higher mortgage.
Zero Hours Contract Mortgages
Variable income, averaging periods, and the handful of lenders who genuinely accept zero-hours workers.
Locum Mortgages
Income assessment for locum doctors, nurses, and pharmacists — PAYE, ltd company, and agency routes.
Mortgage After Redundancy
Getting a mortgage after job loss — minimum time in new role, employment gaps, probationary periods, and documentation.
Agency Worker Mortgages
How lenders assess agency and temp worker income — contract history, payslip evidence, minimum assignment periods, and which lenders accept temporary employment.
Mortgage Without Payslips
Mortgage income evidence for non-PAYE borrowers — SA302 returns, accountant certificates, bank statements, day-rate contracts, and lenders who accept non-payslip proof.
Freelancer Mortgages
How lenders assess freelancer income — project-based earnings, irregular pay patterns, sole trader vs limited company, and which lenders offer flexible underwriting for freelancers.
Commission Income Mortgages
How lenders assess variable commission income — averaging periods, guaranteed vs non-guaranteed commission, and documentation required for commission-based pay.
Bonus Income Mortgages
Using bonuses in a mortgage application — which lenders include guaranteed vs discretionary bonuses, averaging, and how to maximise borrowing power from variable pay.
Multiple Income Sources Mortgages
How lenders assess applicants with multiple income streams — combining employment, rental, investment, and self-employment income for maximum borrowing.
Overseas Income Mortgages
Getting a UK mortgage on foreign income — currency risk, evidence requirements, tax residency, and which lenders accept overseas earnings from employed and self-employed applicants.
Pension Income Mortgages
Mortgage applications in retirement — how state pension, defined benefit, and drawdown income is assessed, RIO products, and maximum lending ages.
Rental Income Mortgages
Using rental income to support a residential mortgage application — how lenders assess rental streams, portfolio income, and combining rental with employment income.
Mortgage With 1 Year Self-Employed Accounts
Getting a mortgage with only one year of self-employed accounts — which lenders accept it, how income is assessed, what evidence is required, and whether to wait for two years.
Employment Gap Mortgages
How lenders assess gaps in employment history — career breaks, redundancy periods, caring responsibilities, and returning to work — and when a gap affects borrowing capacity.
Shift Allowance Mortgages
How mortgage lenders assess shift allowances, overtime, and night premiums — contractual vs non-contractual treatment, averaging methods, and evidence required.
Overtime Income Mortgages
How lenders treat regular overtime pay — guaranteed vs non-guaranteed overtime, averaging periods, evidence required, and which lenders include the most overtime in affordability.
Director Salary & Dividend Mortgages
How lenders calculate affordability when a company director draws a low salary and supplements it with dividends — income combination methods, years of accounts needed, and dividend variability treatment.
Solicitor Mortgage FAQ
How UK lenders assess solicitor and legal professional income — NQ salary, salaried partner pay, equity partner profit share, and barrister chambers income.
GP Mortgage FAQ
How UK lenders assess GP income — GP partner profit shares, NHS contract income, private practice sessions, out-of-hours income, and salaried GPs applying for a mortgage.
Physiotherapist Mortgage FAQ
How UK lenders assess physiotherapist income — NHS employed physios, self-employed private practice owners, locum physiotherapists, and mixed NHS and private income structures.
Driving Instructor Mortgage FAQ
How UK lenders assess driving instructor income — self-employed ADIs, franchise instructors, newly registered instructors, and PDIs applying for a mortgage.
Dental Hygienist Mortgage FAQ
How UK mortgage lenders assess dental hygienist income — self-employed hygienists working across multiple practices, NHS and private mixed income, and associate arrangements.
Artist Mortgage FAQ
How UK mortgage lenders assess artist income — self-employed visual artists, illustrators, gallery commission sales, arts grants, teaching income, and mixed creative and employed income.
Writer Mortgage FAQ
How UK mortgage lenders assess writer income — freelance journalists, authors with royalties, copywriters, self-employed content writers, and mixed employed and writing income.
Train Driver Mortgage FAQ
How UK mortgage lenders assess train driver income — shift allowances, overtime, productivity bonuses, Network Rail and TOC employment, and rail industry pension implications.
Pub Owner Mortgage FAQ
How UK mortgage lenders assess pub owner income — publicans, free house operators, tied pub lessees, pub company income assessment, and complex hospitality business mortgage applications.
Property type & ownership structure
Ex-Local Authority Mortgages
Lender restrictions on ex-council flats and houses — construction types, council ownership ratios, deposit requirements, and Right to Buy.
Buy-to-Let Limited Company Mortgages
SPV structure, Section 24 tax advantage, lender appetite for company BTL, personal guarantees, ICR requirements, and transferring personal portfolios.
Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) Mortgages
Adding a family member to boost borrowing without adding them to the title — SDLT implications and how lenders assess all parties' income in a JBSP arrangement.
Borrower circumstances
Bad Credit Mortgages
CCJs, defaults, missed payments — which adverse credit events affect eligibility and by how much.
Expat Mortgages (UK)
British nationals abroad buying UK property — income currency, residency requirements, and eligible lenders.
Mortgage With a CCJ
Satisfied vs unsatisfied CCJs, waiting periods, LTV limits, adverse credit lender tiers, and how CCJ history interacts with complex income.
Mortgage With Defaults
How lenders assess defaults on your credit file, satisfied vs unsatisfied distinctions, waiting periods, LTV restrictions, and specialist lenders who consider recent credit blips.
IVA & Mortgage
Getting a mortgage during or after an Individual Voluntary Arrangement — discharge waiting times, lender attitudes, credit file impact, and income documentation for complex earners.
Mortgage After Bankruptcy
Post-bankruptcy mortgage timelines, discharge waiting periods, deposit requirements, which specialist lenders consider bankruptcy history, and credit-rebuilding strategies.
Gifted Deposit Mortgages
Using a gifted deposit from family — how to evidence a gift, what a gifted deposit letter must contain, whether gifted deposits affect LTV, and repayable loan vs genuine gift.
Gifted Equity Mortgage FAQ
Buying a property below market value with gifted equity — how lenders calculate LTV on concessionary purchases, evidence required, stamp duty implications, and accepted sources.
Mortgage During Probationary Period
Getting a mortgage while in a new job on probation — which lenders accept probationary employees, required notice periods, and combining probation with past self-employment.
Mortgage With Late Payments FAQ
How lenders treat late and missed payments on your credit file — severity vs defaults and CCJs, how long they matter, and which lenders take a pragmatic view.
Mortgage mechanics, rates & protection
Mortgage Broker Fees
How brokers earn their money, the difference between fee-free and fee-charging brokers, typical fee ranges, and when a specialist fee is worth paying.
Remortgage With Complex Income
Remortgaging when self-employed or with variable income — timing your application to the best set of accounts, avoiding unnecessary affordability retests, and which lenders apply flexible underwriting at remortgage.
Mortgage Underwriting
What mortgage underwriters check, why applications are declined, how long underwriting takes, and how complex income borrowers navigate manual underwriting.
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