Contractor Mortgages – how long do you have to be a Contractor to get one?

How Long Do you Have to be a Contractor

How Long

Contractors always want to know how long you have to be a contractor to get one.

Tony Harris is a specialist contractor mortgages broker. He has been getting contractors mortgages for years. We have heard tales of people walking into high street banks to get a mortgage only to be told that they need to have 3 years accounts with them to qualify.

Many contractors want contractor mortgages soon after they become contractors. With their new-found wealth that comes as a bit of a blow. So we asked Tony the question.

How long do you have to be contracting to get a mortgage? I heard you need three years worth of accounts.

Applying for a Mortgage

Said Tony, “It is true that if you apply for a mortgage yourself on the high street, you will almost certainly need to have access to several years accounts. You will also need to show a steady or rising income from contracting in this time.

“However, we base your mortgage on a multiple of your contract rate alone. We simply need a copy of your current contract, a bank statement and proof of ID to secure your mortgage. The great news is that we can get you a mortgage on your very first day as a Contractor!”

Specialist Contractor Mortgages

So, how long was I told? I wish I’d known Tony when I first wanted to buy a house and get a mortgage after I turned contractor.

I went to a bank. They told me I needed three years of accounts. I thought that was that. Houses in my area in Maida Vale went up from £18,000 for the one I wanted to £96,000 before I was able to buy one.

It’s great that these specialist contractor mortgages are available now.

To get further information or to apply for a mortgage, fill in a form here and they will get back to you:- Contractor Mortgages

Contractor Mortgage Offer – how much can you get?

How Much Can You Get

So, How Much Can You Get

The questions contractors ask is how much can they get when applying for a specialist contractor mortgage.

Tony Harris is a specialist contractor mortgages broker. He has successfully got contractors mortgage offers for years, way above what a high street bank would get you. We ask him how much a contractor can get on his contractor mortgage offer and how it is worked out.

Tony, how much of a contractor mortgage offer can you get a contractor? Is it related to the amount you pay yourself from your company? Can you get a contractor mortgage offer based on the total amount of the contract? Say I was earning £400 a day but paying myself £150 a day? How much of a contractor mortgage offer could you get me?

Tony’s reply on Contractor Mortgage Offer

“Our specially negotiated contract based underwriting uses your hourly or daily rate to work out how much you can borrow This is irrespective of how much you physically draw out for yourself.

“We simply take your daily rate of £400 and work out what your annualised rate would be if you worked at this level for five days a week and 48 weeks of the year.

“The lender will then specify what multiple of this they are willing to lend. However, it is usually around four times annual contract rate.

Contractor Mortgage Offer from Contract

“This means you could secure a mortgage of £384,000 despite only paying yourself £150 a day.

“You don’t have to have an annual contract to receive this amount. The lenders we use understand our niche clients. They appreciate that you are highly likely to secure another contract as soon as the current one has ended. So even if you only have a three-month contract, we should be able to secure you a mortgage”.

Director’s Salary

That’s pretty good and a lot more than a bank or building society would offer you. They would only take the Director’s salary you draw. They offer contractor mortgages based on 3, 4 or 5 times that. That wouldn’t buy you much.

It’s basically all down to Tony’s credibility with the mortgage brokers and his success down the years in bringing them contractors who pay their mortgages. Contractors can tap into that.

To get further information or to apply for a mortgage, fill in a form here and Tony will get back to you:- Contractor Mortgages

How quickly can you get Contractor Mortgages?

How Quickly Can You Get a Contractor Mortgage

How Quickly

We asked top specialist contractor mortgages broker Tony Harris how quickly he could get contractor mortgages. Was it a long-drawn out process? Here is how he replied.

“Our advisers will carry out an initial consultation via phone or email lasting 10-15 minutes. Once we agree which lender best suits your needs an agreement in principle can be secured. This will be within a matter of hours of your initial call or email.

“This gives you real clout when negotiating with estate agents etc. That’s because it shows the lender is broadly in agreement that they will lend you the money and that you can move quickly with any purchase.

Property Offer

“They would be assured that once you a seller has accepted your offer on a property, we’d agree a competitive interest rate scheme with you that meets your requirements and the application would go live straight away.

“After receipt of your initial instruction the whole process of underwriting, valuation and legal to you getting the keys to your new home in 4-8 weeks.

“It helps to speed things up, to get contractor mortgages, if you have the necessary documentation to hand. However, because we are able to do everything remotely via phone and email, the application is hassle free. It’s much faster than if you were to apply through a high street bank branch”.

Contractor Mortgages

That sounds pretty speedy to get contractor mortgages. It would put you to the head of the queue if you were bidding for a house.

Tony reckons that they can get a new contractor mortgage offers on the very first day of the new contractors first contract. They could have the new contractor in his, or her, dream house in less than a month.

To get contractor mortgages or further information or to apply for a mortgage, fill in a form here and Tony will get back to you: – Specialist Contractor Mortgages

Contractor Mortgage Offers Based on Contract Value

Contract Value - Contractor Mortgage Offers at best rates

Contract Value

Specialist brokers can get contractors mortgages based on their contract value.

Most lenders don’t understand contractors when making contractor mortgage offers. They don’t know how they operate.

They should, as most of them employ heaps of contractors in their IT departments and other departments.

However, those at banks and building societies who are the ones who decide if contractors should get mortgages are not the same people who interact with contractors in their computer departments.

Best Contractor Mortgages

Best Contractor Mortgages Rates & Offers

Contractors Risky to Lend To

From their point of view contractors are a big risk.

As they don’t have permanent (and secure) jobs they need to show a track record.

So, they ask to see 3 or more years worth of accounts.

Mortgage Offer Based on Director’s Salary

Now, what they are used to dealing with, when they make their mortgage offers, are salaries.

They then make an offer based on a multiple of a person’s salary.

They get the contractor’s accounts and peruse it for something they know.

“Ah, there it is” they think. “There’s the director’s salary. We will multiply that by 3 or 4 or 5 and make the contractor an offer based on that.”

The contractor would have been better to try to get a mortgage before he turned contractors.

Specialist Contractor Mortgage Brokers

Contract Based Mortgage Offers

Contract Based Mortgage Offers from Specialist Brokers

However, in the past few years, specialist contractor mortgage brokers have managed to convince some lenders that the contractor market could be a lucrative one for them.

They convinced one or two lenders to give it a go and lend to a few contractors.

The results were good. The contractors paid their mortgages regularly and didn’t default.

So, they gave out more and more mortgages.

Daily Rate Annualised

They based these mortgage offers on the contractor’s daily rate annualised rather than their director’s salary.

They also only needed to see the contract as proof of earnings.

In the beginning the lenders were quite conservative when lending to contractors.

However, they gradually relaxed once they saw that contractors were actually quite good payers.

Despite the uncertainty of working as a contractor, they were able to organise themselves into making regular payments even when they were out of work.

More and More Mortgage Offers for Contractors

As a result, specialist contractor mortgage brokers are able to get more and more mortgages for contractors from more and more lenders.

What’s more, it is at high street rates or sometimes better.

Every so often they get a special mortgage offer just for contractors based on their contract value.

Specialist Contractor Mortgages

Specialist Contractor Mortgages brokers

Contractors now have access to a growing number of lenders and a growing number of mortgage offers.

The process is pretty quick too.

You can normally get contractor mortgage offers on the very day you ask for one, providing you have all the details and could, potentially, be able to move into your dream house anywhere between 2 and 6 weeks after you sought the offer.

Applying for a Contractor Mortgage

To find out more, or to apply, just click on Contractor Mortgage Application and fill in the form there.

Contractor Mortgages Lender Allows for Breaks Between Contracts

Contractor Mortgages Lender

Contractor Mortgages Lender

In a new breakthrough, a brand new lender has turned the contractor mortgages market upside down.

It used to be that it was very difficult to get a mortgage if you were a contractor.

Many contractors, with their new contract rates, double what the earned as permies, expected to be welcomed with open arms by high street banks and building societies.

However, they were seen as risks by them. Contractors had to produced three years of accounts which scuppered new contractors for several years.

Specialist Contractor Mortgages

Specialist Contractor Mortgages brokers

I know. It happened to me when I first started contracting. I was shocked.

Offer based on Director’s Salary

What’s more they only offered you mortgages based on a multiple of contractors’ director’s salary.

As we all know contractors like to keep this as low as possible. They don’t want to hit the upper rate of tax and so take much of their money in dividend payments.

You would have been better off applying for a mortgage as a permie before you went contracting.

Contractor Mortgage Brokers

However, in the past decade specialist contractor mortgage brokers have sprung up.

They have convinced mortgage lenders to loan to contractors.

Contractors could now get mortgage offers based on their daily rates instead of director’s salary

They could also get mortgage approval with just their contract as proof rather than having to produce three years worth of accounts.

Many contractors are taking advantage of these offers obtained through these specialist mortgage brokers.

Contractor Mortgages UK

Contractor Mortgages UK based on daily rate annualised

This was much better for contractors – although the lenders were still a little conservative.

Bluestone Mortgages

Now, a new lender, Bluestone Mortgages, backed by the private equity arm of Lloyd’s Bank, have come up with a mortgage much suited to contractors.

This new flexible contractor mortgage would suit those contractors who like to take time off between contracts.

Even more importantly, it will suit those forced to take time off between contractors.

Many a sleepless night has been spent by contractors who have all their bills to pay whilst not knowing when they will get their next contract.

Breaks in Contract Work

Bluestone Mortgages are showing a great understanding of the contracting profession.

Previously contractors would find it difficult to get a mortgage if they had any break in contract work in the past year.

Now Bluestone Mortgages will allow up to a 6 month break in the past year.

They will also take a flexible view of any missed payments that are on a contractor’s credit file.

Knowing how contracting works they are even accepting the odd serious credit transgression showing on the contractor’s credit file.

Best Mortgage Deals for UK Contractors

Best Mortgage Deals that UK contractors can get

Major Breakthrough

This is great news for contractors and a major breakthrough in the specialist contractor mortgage market.

This new contractor mortgages lender is the perfect fit for contractors of any mortgage lender so far.

To find out more from the specialist contractor mortgages broker who negotiated this deal with Bluestone Mortgages simply fill in the form below and someone will be in touch.

Please click on Contractor Mortgage Application and fill in the form there.

Favourite Contractor Mortgages Brokers

Favourite Contractor Motgages Brokers

Favourite Contractor Mortgages

My favourite contractor mortgages brokers are those that are specialists in the contractor market.

These guys didn’t exist till ten years ago.

Contractors always found it difficult to get mortgages.

When they went in to see high street banks and building societies, with their new-found wealth, they expected to be welcomed with open arms.

Favourite Contractor Motgages Brokers

Favourite Contractor Mortgages Brokers for deluxe mortgages

Favourite Contractor Mortgages

Favourite Contractor Mortgages from specialist contractor mortgage brokers

Instead, it was just the opposite.

Contractors Too Risky To Loan Money to

The banks and building society managers saw them as a big risk. They didn’t have steady income like a permanent employee.

They saw them as so risky that they wanted to see a track record.

They wanted to see three years worth of accounts.

That meant that you had to have been a contractor for well over three years to have those.

Contractor Mortgage Offer Blow

Then, if they managed to pass that obstacle, they were hit with a blow to the solar plexus.

The mortgage offer they got was just a multiple of their Director’s salary.

Favourite Contractor Mortgages

Favourite Contractor Mortgages from specialist contractor mortgage brokers

Most personal service company contractors keep that deliberately low. They want to take their income in dividends, which are taxed at a lower level.

This is what happened to me when I first wanted to buy a house. I was  sent packing and told to come back in a few years.

Even now, if you walk into a high street bank, or building society, this is the response you will get.

Specialist Contractor Mortgage Brokers

Luckily, with the advent of specialist contractor mortgage brokers, contractors can now get proper mortgage offers.

Contractors can get the best mortgage offers and the best interest rates through them.

There was a huge gap in the market with the growth of the contracting market in the UK.

Contractors were on the outside looking into the deluxe mortgage market.

Those that took on mortgages when they were permanent employees were the lucky ones.

Specialist Mortgages for IT Contractors

However, ten years ago, one mortgage broker convinced one mortgage lender to take a chance and loan money for mortgages to a few IT Contractors.

That worked, so they loaned more IT Contractors money for mortgages.

Instead of being a risk, these IT Contractors paid up their monthly mortgage instalments regularly and had a lower rate of default than on the general market.

Contractor Mortgage Quote

Contractor Mortgage Quote at best rates

As a result, this specialist deluxe contractor mortgage broker got more and more credibility with more and more lenders. They were falling over themselves, then, to loan to contractors.

Mortgages for All Contractors

A couple fo years ago, the mortgage lenders expanded the market to all contractors.

Now, there are more and more great deluxe mortgage offers for contractors from more and more lenders through these specialist contractor mortgage brokers.

As I said, the favourite contractor mortgages are got by those mortgage brokers specialising in getting contractors mortgages.

They can get contractors lower interest rates and higher mortgage offers than contractors could get on the general mortgage market.

The Best Contractor Mortgages

The great news is twofold.

Firstly, contractors can get mortgage offers based on their daily rate annualised rather than using their Director’s salary.

The mortgage lenders take contractors’ weekly rate and multiply that by 48 for a contractor’s annual salary.

They then multiply that by 4 (or even 5 sometimes) to get the mortgage offer they make.

Using Your Contract as Proof of Income

The second great piece of news is that the best mortgage lenders don’t need to see three years worth of accounts before making a mortgage offer to contractors.

Mortgage Brokers for Contractors

Specialist Mortgage Brokers for Contractors in the UK

They just need to see a contractor’s contract ss proof of income.

Indeed they can get a first time contractor a deluxe mortgage offer on the very first day of his, or her, first ever contract.

The favourite contractor mortgages brokers in the contracting market are those that can get the best offers for contractors.

To find out more, or to apply for one of these top class mortgages from the specialist brokers, just click Favourite Contractor Mortgages Application and fill in the form.

95% Mortgages for Contractors with just 6 Months Contracting

6 months contracting experience

6 Months Contracting

There’s a new lender in the contractor mortgage market – and they’re lending to contractors with as little as 6 months contracting experience. Their name is Buckingham Building Society.

To get a 95% mortgage contractors usually have to have two years experience, at least, as a contractor.

They also have to have a minimum income of £300 a day because of the extra perceived risk that lenders see with contractors.

Best Contractor Mortgages

Best Contractor Mortgages Rates & Offers

Buckingham Building Society and Contractor Mortgages

However, the Buckingham Building society has cut through that. It is offering its mortgages to new contractors with just 6 months experience as a contractor.

Also, there’s no minimum daily rate needed. They will consider all contractors regardless of their contract rate.

Their mortgage offer will be based on the contractors’ daily rate annualised, i.e. their weekly rate multiplied by 48 to get their annual salary and then multiplied by up to 5 again to get the mortgage offer.

There’s no need for contractors to have to provide accounts. All the proof needed is the contractor’s contract.

Specialist Contractor Mortgages

Specialist Contractor Mortgages brokers

Specialist Contractor Mortgage Market

More and more lenders are getting into the specialist contractor mortgage market.

They all used to think it was too risky.

One building society was convinced by a contractor mortgage broker to dip their toes in the water to see if contractors were a good risk.

It all worked out well. The contractors kept up their payments even when out of work and they did not default on their mortgages.

This gave the specialist contractor mortgages broker a lot of credibility and so more and more banks and building societies started to loan to contractors.

The Buckingham Building Society is just the latest.

Contract Based Mortgage Offers

Contract Based Mortgage Offers from Specialist Brokers

Better Mortgage Offers for Contractors

Indeed it looks as if more and more banks and building societies want to hitch a ride on this gravy train.

As contractors give the contractor mortgage brokers more and more credibility, by keeping up their payments, expect better and better mortgage offers for contractors.

Buckingham Building Society are making mortgage offers to contractors, now, who have just 6 months contracting behind them.

Expect there to be more and more offers like this as the banks and building societies see lending money to contractors as not very risky at all.

To take advantage of this offer from the Buckingham Building Society, or other contractor mortgage offers, contact a specialist contractor mortgage broker by clicking on Contractor Mortgage Application and fill in the form there.

40% Deposit Interest Free Present to Londoners from Government

40% Deposit Interest Free

40% Deposit Interest Free

Londoners are to receive a 40% Deposit Interest free from the Government. This is according to an announcement in the Autumn Statement for Chancellor George Osborne.

That was a major rabbit that he pulled out of his hat, completely out of the blue.

This is under the Help to Buy scheme.

Help to Buy Scheme

The Help to Buy scheme has worked very well outside London but not very well in London.

The Government offered 20% deposits, interest free, to those wanting to get on the property ladder.

However, this was not much use in London where property prices have soared out of all recognition.

A nice flat in a decent area could cost you close to a million pounds.

So, offering them a 20% deposit wasn’t going to do the trick.

IT Contractor Mortgages

Indeed, even IT Contractors, who are pretty well paid, would struggle to buy a first home in London.

A contractor who earned £400 a day would be able to borrow close to half a million using specialist contractor mortgage brokers.

However, he, or she would be left scratching around, even at that, for a home in a decent area.

So, now contractors in London, who wish to purchase a new home, will qualify for this 40% deposit.

5% Deposit for UK Contractors

With this new initiative, or latest version fo the Help to Buy scheme, contractors would need to stump up jus a 5% deposit and the Government will stump up another 40%.

This will leave lenders just needing to stump up a further 55%.

Because the lenders are loaning just 55% it means that they are likely to loan money at lower rates than a lender asked to stump up 90% or 95%.

40% Deposit Interest Free laons for London contractors

40% Deposit Interest Free loans for London contractors

Nationwide Mortgages Just for Contractors

It’s expected that the Nationwide Building Society are going to want to have a piece of this action.

One specialist contractor mortgage brokers have a current deal with them to get contractors mortgages at great rates.

A high street building society, or bank, would ask contractor to produce three years worth of accounts to get a mortgage offer.

They would base that mortgage offer on a multiple of their Director’s salary.

That’s not much use.

This specialist contractor  mortgage broker has a deal with the Nationwide specially for them that provides mortgage offers to contractors just on production of their contract.

House Prices to rise for for UK Contractors

House Prices for UK Contractors

Mortgage Offer based on Daily Rate

Furthermore, they will base that mortgage offer on their daily rate annualised.

So, if their daily rate was £400 a day, the offer would be likely to be £400 x 5 x 48 (weeks) x 4.

Therefore, it is expected that Nationwide will give a new deal to London contractors with a rate as low as 1.59% fixed for 2 years with a £999 arrangement fee.

For more details on this , or to apply, all you need to do is click on Contractor Mortgage Application and fill in the form there.

Contractor Mortgages Market Boom – Best Places for Contractors to Buy

Contractor Mortgages Market Boom

Contractor Mortgages Market Boom

There is a Contractor Mortgages Market boom, according to specialist contractor mortgages broker Tony Harris.

London has seen massive rises in the price of houses and apartments. With London becoming, more and more, an international city, the contractor mortgages market is set to continue in its upward path.

The best value in the next few years, though, could be in cities and areas who have more recently started rising in price.

Property Mortgages Market Boom Moving North

Every property market boom starts, firstly, in the south and gradually spreads throughout the country. It moves north generally.

The current contractor mortgages market boom is going that way.

This means that cities like Sheffield, Liverpool and Glasgow are likely to rise more than southern cities in he next few years. The contractor mortgages market is likely to increase significantly in those cities.

Property experts say that London house prices will continue to rise – but at a slower rate than northern cities.

Buy a House up North

Indeed, if a contractor from London got an extended contract in a northern city, like Liverpool or Glasgow, it might be a good idea to sell up in London and buy a house in Liverpool or Glasgow.

Firstly, it would be an absolutely palatial place you could get there just by selling a flat in a decent area of London.

Secondly, when it was time to go back down south again the contractor would get an even better property in London after selling his, or her, northern house for more than his previous place in London was now worth.

Your house could make more for you than your contract.

Average Annual Earnings

House prices in London are now 12 times Londoners average annual earnings. For the UK as a whole it is 6.3 times annual earnings.

Average house prices in both London and Oxford were now so high that they were more than 12 times local annual earnings – almost double the UK average of 6.3 times wages.

The cities where house prices have been rising for 6 years are as follows. They are Aberdeen, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Cambridge, Birmingham, Oxford and Manchester.

Contractor Mortgages Market Best Areas to Buy

Although property prices will continue to rise in those cities, it will be at a slower rate than the following cities which have only started to recover in the past two years.

They are Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Leeds. Belfast has only started recovering in the past 18 months and houses there are at real bargain prices.

House Prices in those cities are only between 3 and 6 times local annual salaries. This makes them most affordable. There’s more room for property price rises in those cities.

London Property Boom

In the last 6 years the average property price in London has risen from £144,278 to £405,500. That’s astonishing. Part of that is due to London’s status as an international city.

The Government’s Help to Buy scheme has given a massive boost to the contractor mortgages market. It means that first time buyers could enter the housing market again.

They can get 95% mortgages now compared to 75% to 80% mortgages before.

Contractor Mortgages Maximum Offers

Low rates are also sending the market higher. These are the lowest rates that contractors have ever had – and many of the are taking fixed rate mortgages to lock in those low rates.

A contractor mortgages lenders war has intensified this year leading to some great bargains for contractors as regards mortgage rates.

Banks and building societies ask contractors for three years worth of accounts. Contractor mortgage brokers need just a copy of the contract.

High street banks and building societies base their offers on the contractor’s director’s salary. Contractor mortgage brokers base it on a contractors daily rate annualised – which is much more.

This has led to the current contractor mortgages market boom.

To find our more click on Specialist Contractor Mortgages

Contractor Crowdfunding Club

To learn more, or to join, our Contractor Crowdfunding Club click on Contractor Crowdfunding Opportunities

You’ll hear first about great crowdfunding opportunities and get in ahead of the crowd. Often these opportunities disappear in hours.

First Time Buyers Property Boom on back of Help to Buy

Property Crowdfunding for Contractors

First Time Buyers Property Boom

A first time buyers property boom has sent the property market soaring. Prior to the Help to Buy scheme being brought in by the Government, contractors were having to stump up 20% to 25% deposits if they wanted to buy a house or apartment. As you can imagine, most first time buyers could not afford that.

Therefore, these high deposits pretty much excluded first time buyers from the market and they are normally the lifeblood of the property market.

Laws of Supply and Demand

If you cut the demand for a commodity then, if the supply stays the same, the price decreases. Equally, according to the economic Laws of Supply and Demand, if you increase the demand for a commodity, and the supply remains the same, then the price goes up.

That is why house prices were previously falling and now they are rising.

With the addition of first time buyers to the market the demand has increased and so the prices have been rising. This has been because of a first time buyers property boom.

House Prices Rising

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that house prices rose by 9.% in 2014.

Mortgage lenders have reported that this first time buyers property boom has led to a record level of mortgages sold to first time buyers.

The average house price is now £272,000 – up £22,000 in just a year.

Specialist Contractor Mortgages Market

There’s also a first time buyers property boom in the specialist contractor mortgages market, according to specialist contractor mortgages broker Tony Harris.

He has been getting contractors mortgages for years. You are always better to use a specialist contractor mortgages broker. They can get contractors the best deals.

He can get contractors mortgages based on their daily rate annualised times 4. All they have to do is produce a copy of their contract.

If contractors went to a high street bank or building society they would ask them for 3 years worth of accounts. Any offer would be based on their Director’s Salary too.

To find our more click on Specialist Contractor Mortgages

Contractor Crowdfunding Club

To learn more or to join our Contractor Crowdfunding Club click on Contractor Crowdfunding Opportunities

You’ll hear first about great crowdfunding opportunities and get in ahead of the crowd. Often these opportunities disappear in hours.