Self-employed? Buy sooner with Tembo's help

Lenders use different income calculations to work out what you can borrow depending on your type of self-employment. If you are a sole trader, you’ll be judged on your latest two years’ net profit before tax. While contractors provide their weekly earnings and lenders typically multiply those earnings by 46 weeks. For limited company directors, you're allowed to use your salary and dividends, but not retained profits or directors’ loans. 

If you're employed and have had a recent pay rise, some lenders will let you use your new higher salary to boost what you borrow for a mortgage. However, if you're self-employed and your profits go up, it's unlikely this will help your mortgage application. Lenders calculate what they'll offer you for a mortgage using your average profit from the last 2-3 years - or your most recent profit figure. For you to benefit from an uptick in profits, they need to remain consistently high for 2-3 years before you apply for a mortgage.

Depending on your self-employment type, you'll need to provide different types of evidence of your income to a lender to be approved for a mortgage from them. For example, sole traders may be asked for a Self Assessment Tax Calculation (SA302) forms, a tax year overview and your latest three months’ business and personal bank statements depending on the lender. Limited company directors must submit their last two years’ finalised accounts, the latest of which cannot be older than 18 months when you apply for a mortgage. While contractors must provide their latest four weeks’ payslips and a copy of their contract.

In 2023 and 2022 we were voted the UK’s Best Mortgage Broker by our customers at the British Bank Awards. We specialise in helping buyers, movers and remortgages boost their affordability. Thousands have already used Tembo to discover how they could afford their dream home. Our smart decisioning tech and mortgage experts will find the best way to boost your budget from over 100 mortgage lenders, including high street banks and innovative first time buyer schemes. So you can get a solution in an instant, plus benefit from our expert advice and access some of the best rates available.

To ensure you get the best possible service no matter how complex your situation, Tembo usually charges a fee for mortgage advice. The fee isn't payable until you have a mortgage offer from a lender, so you'll never pay for advice alone. For a standard mortgage, the fee is £499, and for a Boost mortgage or complex cases it is £749.

Why? Well, you'll get expert advice from a fully qualified specialist, who will create a bespoke mortgage plan that's right for you. You'll also get access to over 100 lenders, with many options not found on the high street or through other channels, exclusively available to Tembo. Plus we'll do all the hard work, so you don't have to! We'll help you find the right mortgage and conveyancer, and we'll liaise with your solicitor and estate agent once your offer has been accepted.