There may be many complex obstacles that small business owners may face to get a home loan. Some of these challenges are avoidable, while others must be carefully dealt with. But don’t worry! It’s certainly not impossible. Find out what you need to know if you want a home mortgage as a small business owner.
Ready to buy a home but also own your own business? Applying for a mortgage always has its complications, but if you’re a small business owner, the burden could be even trickier. Plan in advance, and plan very well. The process of obtaining a mortgage for a self-employed and/or business owner borrower is exactly the same as a salaried worker. However, the difficulty lies in your proof of income - You're required to provide us with full records of your business, a profit-and-loss statement and a balance sheet, business bank statement, etc. You’ll need to have all of this prepared in advance of your application.
The business documentation we require are normal compliance documentation you prepare and/or keep as part of running a business. You may even want to hire a bookkeeper who can help you prepare and record the information we will need.
You'll be required to show year-over-year income consistency or growth. We will want to know how well your business is doing if that’s where all of your income is coming from - is it a reliable source of income? It looks much better to if your income and business grows year over year, but consistent solvency is also a plus.
Tax Deductions
One of the benefits of running your own business, as you know, is the ability to write off expenses as tax deductions to decrease your overall tax burden. However, this practice can come back to haunt you when applying for a home loan. When our underwriters look at tax returns for proof of income, they will see income after business expenses have been deducted, resulting in a much lower figure than what you actually take home. This will reduce the loan amount that the borrower can qualify for, or even result in rejection.
So, because the deductions make your income appear smaller, you want to make your income look as big as possible to qualify for a loan and get the best rate. This may be herculean (but not impossible), and it will pay off in your future homeownership.
Credit Profile
While having a good credit score is a good goal for anyone seeking a home loan, it’s particularly critical for small business owners, who have a host of other requirements in terms of paperwork and proof of income in order to obtain the loan. A really solid credit score will really help you along as it indicates stability to the lender.
Co-signing
If your spouse or partner has a day job, use that to your advantage when applying for a home loan - steady, stable salary income is much more likely to de-risk your application. If they were considering quitting or joining your business, it’s a better idea to have them hold off until the application process has been finalized. If that’s not an option, consider asking your parents or another relative with stable, SSNIT-registered salaried worker to co-sign your mortgage.
Those relationships can be tricky—and risky for the co-signer, as they will be held responsible if you default on your payments. However, if you’ve been denied multiple times, it’s a worthy option to consider, especially if you have a great family relationship.
Long-term client relationships
Showing a history of lucrative, long-term contracts and happy clients will help give you a better chance of securing a loan. We might even require references from your clients or customers. Before applying, make sure you’ve put in the time to develop relationships with your clients and they are happy with the service you’re providing. You want established relationships with regular clients who would be willing to vouch for you.
BENEFITS
• Opportunity to buy a home without having to take that bulk cash from your business
• Maximum LTV: 80% up to 100% if buying from any of our in-house home providers)
• Access to No Deposit Mortgages or No Closing Cost Mortgages - The two cannot be applicable together for any home loan type
REQUIREMENTS
• Your business MUST be registered (either as a Sole Proprietor / Sole Trader or Limited Liability Company)
• Your registered business MUST be operating for at least two (2) years with documentation to back it up. If you’re a business owner looking to apply for a home mortgage, it may be worthwhile to set up a 2-year pre-mortgage finance plan to get your books in order in a way that is attractive to our underwriting team.
• Valid Business Bank Account and most recent 12 months Business Bank Statement
• Website for your registered business
• You MUST be an existing customer of any of our onboarding partners below, depending on where your business is registered. You can become an existing customer of any of our onboarding partners by hosting your business website on their platform:
Note: All Business Owner Home Loans are applied from the respective platforms of any of our onboarding partners, depending on your business location. The team at our onboarding partners' platform will help you understand your business cash flow, taxable income, and what other information you need to have ready to apply for a home loan.
It's a good idea to have these things ready:
• Any tax return, profit and loss statement, and balance sheet for your business covering the last 12 months;
• The last 12 months of personal tax returns; and
• Proof that your business has been registered for at least two years.
HOME LOAN CALCULATORS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
As a business owner, your application is assessed using the same criteria as customers earning a salary to determine how much you can borrow and the deposit you need.
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