Using trading profits to get mortgage ??

[rjay]

What are the High Street banks & building societies position on a mortgage applicant wanting to include their profits from trading as part of their declared income ?? I can imagine some would say that trading is too risky for the income to be taken into account, but then again some jobs are here today, gone tomorrow as well I'm self-employed anyway so I'm used to having a difficult time when trying to borrow from banks but I'd like to be forewarned by others here as to what I can expect if I try to include spreadbetting income in my monthly/yearly income calculations.

 

[JonnyT]

They might not want to give you any mortgage whatsoever if you declare that you trade as you could literally lose the house.

JonnyT

 

[trendie]

The main problem with being self-employed, as you may have discoverd already rjay, is that banks dont like entrepeneurs!! They prefer, boring, dull, employees, earning the same, regular amount, month in, month out.

Banks are unlikely to take your trading income seriously, as it will fluctuate, and therefore difficult to assess its true worth.
However, some companies, offer "self-certified mortgages", where you DONT HAVE to declare your income. But, you may be required to put up around 25% deposit, and pay a slightly higher interest rate on the remainder. google "Charcol" ( has a very good website that does self-cert mortgages ).

Good luck.

 

[rjay]

Well you could also lose the house if you're made redundant, become seriously ill or one of numerous other common scenarios. Still, I don't expect commonsense from banks and as trendie says, they do like boring predictable customers. My local Lloyds TSB branch freak out whenever I walk in with a US$ cheque/check so I won't even bother discussing my trading income with them ....

 

[Directional]

I am self employed and managed to get a mortgage from Virgin One with no troubles. Admittedly trading income was not featured in the books that I submitted as I run my trading business seperately, but generally if your accounts paperwork is done well enough, and you can prove you can afford the repayments even if your income fluctuates, you should not encounter any troubles.

Remember, the average desk jockey banker who does your paper work isnt really going to have a clue what a trader actually does, its simply bottom line maths they look at.

Additionally, getting your accountant to give you a certificate saying in his estimation, you can afford the repayments will also be a plus whatever your income comes from.