Contractor Mortgages

We know being an independent contractor isn’t easy when searching for a good mortgage. Our experienced team are here to help ease the complications of finding a good contractor mortgage.

When it comes to finding mortgages for contractors, we’re always on hand to help with the additional challenges you might face. Even if you’re just exploring options, why not give one of our advisors a call today?

As an independent contractor, finding a mortgage can be a difficult process, but we are here to help you navigate the contractor mortgages market. Whether you have a fixed day rate, are on a short-term contract, are an independent contractor operating under an ‘umbrella company’, or are a Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) contractor, we can walk you through the process and requirements no matter the situation. We would recommend getting in touch as soon as possible to discuss the process further, as no contractor mortgage or client is ever quite the same.

The key part of contractor mortgages, and our job as your contractor mortgage broker, is to prove that your income is sustainable. While past contracts and employment history are obviously important, there should be equal focus on current and any future contracts and agreements. By demonstrating your services are required by employers, and that your income will continue to reach the required repayment targets for the amount you would like to borrow, we will be able to help you find the best available contractor mortgage for your situation. While it may be more challenging, we firmly believe that being a contractor should never be a barrier to moving onto or up the property ladder.

Contact Us

Whether you’re weighing up your options or you’re ready to start the process, our advisors are here to help assess the best options for your situation. How can we help you?

Speak to us about your options

Speak to us about your options

Self-Employed Mortgages

Looking for more general information about getting a mortgage while self-employed? You may find the information you need here.

More about self-employed mortgages

More about self-employed mortgages

Stamp Duty Calculator

It can be complicated and confusing to work out how much stamp duty you’ll need to pay on a new property. Use our calculator to take away the hassle and work out your budget.

Find out what you might pay

Find out what you might pay

What Our
Customers Say

Truly professional service - Katie (and Christine) have always provided a high level of service and support to our family. They have been a pleasure to deal with. Thank you for all you have done.

Mike

Brilliant service. We contacted Katie Starbuck in Christine's office 6-7 weeks before our then current mortgage was due to expire, and knowing the increasing rates were coming up with the Bank of England, Katie gave us the utmost attention to our needs and arranged a good deal for us. Katie and Viv's attention to detail, knowledge of mortgages etc and speed in which they contacted us and replied to us was excellent, making for a smooth remortgage. Would recommend to anybody looking for a new or remortgage. Definitely 5 star!

Dave

Five stars for their responsiveness & professionalism.

Jessica

Key Facts

While acting as your contractor mortgage broker, we will be on hand to help you through the process every step of the way. To get you started, here’s some key facts about contractor mortgages.

1. What is a Contractor Mortgage?

A contractor mortgage is a product designed to allow people working as contractors to borrow money based purely on their contract rate. This could apply to a CIS contractor, consultants, accountants, architects, doctors, teachers or any number of other professions who operate under day-rates or short term contracts.

2. Assessing Your Income

The amount that can be borrowed on a contractor mortgage will depend on the annual income based on your current contract. This can roughly be done with the following calculation - current contract day rate x number of days worked in a week x 46 weeks of the year x 4.5 – but we can help you calculate a more accurate figure if you get in touch.

3. Credit

If you have bad credit when looking for a contractor mortgage, you may find it much harder than usual. While still achievable, improving your credit score will really help. You can do this in a number of ways, including getting onto the electoral roll, avoiding pay-day loans, minimising your debt, and ensuring that any repayments for credit cards, bills or loans are paid on-time.

4. How to Strengthen Your Application

Besides improving your credit score, when applying for a contractor mortgage, the more evidence you can provide for sustainable income the better! Two or more years of payment history as a contractor is ideal, but equally if you can prove your services are required by employers and you have strong current and future contracts and agreements, we will certainly be able to help.

Contractor Mortgages Help!

Still don’t quite have the information you need about contractor mortgages? Your answer might be here, but otherwise please don’t hesitate to get in touch with further questions.

  • 1. Is it harder to get a mortgage as a contractor?

    The application process for a contractor mortgage has some additional challenges, but it’s certainly not an impossible thing! Lenders will assess your income differently to someone employed with permanent full-time employment – why not call us to talk about your personal situation further?

  • 2. What types of contractor mortgages are available?

    Contractor mortgages are available to you if you’re a CIS contractor, agency worker, self-employed, working under an ‘umbrella company’ or working under a fixed-term contract. Please do get in touch to discuss your situation with us – our friendly advisors are always on hand to offer advice.

  • 3. What is a CIS mortgage?

    There isn’t a specific CIS mortgage product, but the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) allows those eligible to present their income to mortgage lenders as a pre-tax gross income, rather than post-tax profit. It therefore allows those who are part of the scheme to borrow a greater amount than those who are not but have comparable income.

  • 4. How are contractor mortgages different?

    Contractor mortgages are products designed to meet the specific needs of contractors given certain technicalities that exist around their pay. They will allow you to borrow money based purely on your contract rate and conduct an affordability assessment that gives more weight to current and future contracts than to those in the past. Depending on your situation, or if you’re a CIS contractor, there may be further differences in the contractor mortgages available – please call one of our advisors for more specific details.

  • 5. Will my contractor mortgage have a higher rate?

    Providing you have a good credit report and are considered low-risk by the lender, you should be able to borrow for a contractor mortgage at the same rate as someone with permanent employment.

  • 6. How do I improve my chances of acceptance for a contractor mortgage?

    The two key ways to improve your chance of receiving a contractor mortgage are to have the best credit report you are able to produce, and to have clear evidence that your employment is sustainable. You can prove your sustainability through past work, but current and future employment is especially important. A larger deposit will also be an advantage in getting the best rates.

  • 7. What information do I need to provide for a contractor mortgage?

    The documents you will be required to present will be dependent on your personal situation. You will need all of the usual documentation for a mortgage application – such as proof of address and financial statements – but we would recommend calling us to discuss other required documentation further as it can vary from situation to situation.

  • 8. How much can I afford?

    As well as contractors varying from one to another, different lenders may also use different methods to calculate your affordability. As a basic rule of thumb, however, you can use the following calculation:

    Current contract day rate x number of days worked in a week x 46 weeks of the year x 4.5

  • 9. I’ve only just become a contractor – can I still get a mortgage?

    While it’s certainly easier to get a contractor mortgage with evidence of long-term sustainability, some lenders will be happy to see as little as six months of regular employment to prove you’re established. Demonstrating employers need your services and you can command certain income over a future period of time will also help hugely.

  • 10. My contract is only short term – is this a problem for a contractor mortgage?

    Most likely no! It will very much depend on the nature of your contract and how easy it may be for you to line up future employment. Lenders are interested in sustainability, so if you’d like to discuss your personal situation further please do get in touch for advice.

  • 11. How important is my credit score?

    As a contractor, bad credit will mean you may find it more difficult than usual to get a mortgage. It is still possible, but we highly recommend you try to improve your credit score prior to application. This can be done by joining the electoral roll, avoiding pay-day loan schemes and ensuring all debt repayments are cleared on time.

  • 12. Can I get a first-time buyer or buy-to-let mortgage if I’m a contractor?

    As with a normal contractor mortgage, there will be certain hoops to jump through in the application process, but these options should still be open to you. For both types of mortgage, you will need to prove your income is sustainable and suitable for the amount you want to borrow, and Buy-to-Let mortgages will also be dependent on the potential rental income of the property.

    Please do get in touch to discuss your specific situation further and how we may be able to help you find the best deal.

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