Self Employed and Need a Mortgage Loan?

by Tim Hart | Jan 20, 2019 4:15:00 PM

Here’s What You Should Know

My buddy and broker/owner of Steelbridge Realty, Jeff Tumbarello, recently had me on his podcast to talk about the difficulty self-employed people have getting mortgages. It certainly can be challenging to know your homebuying options if you’re a self-employed business owner or contractor.

In my opinion, it’s the self-employed borrowers who got slapped with the hardest regulations after the 2008 meltdown. Lenders now go pretty much solely off an individual’s net income, but because many self-employed business owners legally write off as much as they can, they simply don’t claim enough income to get a loan that corresponds to their income bracket. They may have a 720 credit score and 20 percent down up front, but they’ll still face hurdles when it comes to approval.

How to get your bank statements mortgage-approval ready - Your Money

That’s why I’m excited to announce VanDyk Mortgage’s new 12-month business bank statement program. Self-employed business owners usually run their income through their business bank account, so what we can do is take the average of 12 months of income coming through that account and use 50 percent of it as income they can use to qualify for a mortgage. So if, for example, you’ve got $1 million in sales through the year but really only end up netting $100,000, the 12-month program allows you to utilize more of your actual income and leverage it toward your loan.

It’s an attractive option for many self-employed buyers frustrated with the hoops they’re forced to jump through. The only downside is that you will have to pay a slightly higher rate than conventional loans, depending on several factors.

It’s worth noting that this program is designed primarily for self-employed business owners who write off income to the point that claiming it would be prohibitively expensive in taxes. Though it’s available for 1099 commissioned salespeople, I personally haven’t seen much benefit in the program for them. However, for that large group of people who can’t qualify for the home they want due to their writeoffs, this is absolutely the way to go.

If you’re self-employed and looking to buy a home, I’d love to hear from you. Give me a call anytime at 239-437-4278, and we can break down your options!



Born and raised in Southwest Florida, I have been in the Mortgage business since 2001 I'm a grizzly, battle tested mortgage veteran. I am also the Host of Rates & Reels, which is the most popular fishing show in Southwest Florida, hosted by a guy named Tim. In my spare time I love spending time with my family, coaching baseball, and anything else my kids or wife want me to do. I would be happy to help you or someone you know with any of your Mortgage needs.

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