Can I Get a Remortgage While Self-Employed or on Part-Time Hours?

If you’ve recently become self-employed or your hours have reduced, you might be nervous about remortgaging. 

It’s important to assess your financial commitments regularly, and you shouldn’t let being self-employed or having part-time hours impact that process. 

Can I Get a Remortgage While Self-Employed?

You can get a remortgage while self-employed but you’ll need to prove your income to demonstrate that you can afford the monthly payments. There used to be remortgage products especially for those who are self-employed, but now you should be able to access the same mortgages that an employed person can. 

Lending money is always concerned with risk and being employed doesn’t necessarily make a person more or less risky.  Risk is assessed based on many factors, and income is only one of those factors. For instance, a self-employed person who can afford payments and has a spotless credit history is less risky than an employed person who has a low credit score. Unfortunately, you’ll have to provide more evidence of income than an employed person. As a self-employed individual, you’ll need:

If you have less than one year of accounts, you might struggle to prove your average income level, but a remortgage adviser might be able to find a company who’ll consider your application.

Is It Hard to Get a Remortgage If You’re Self-Employed?

No, it’s not a harder to get a mortgage as a self-employed person than as an employed person, but you’ll be required to provide a little more information to prove your income. Evidence of your income is one of the ways that a remortgage lender understands whether you can afford the monthly repayments. 

Is It Easier to Get a Self-Employed Remortgage with the Same Lender?

It can be easier to stay with the same lender, regardless of whether you're self-employed or employed, but it might not be beneficial over time. You wouldn't remortgage with the same lender, you'd get a product transfer - or a further advance if you wanted to borrow more money. Choosing whether to stay with an existing lender can be a difficult decision, especially when faced with cheap remortgage deals from other lenders. 

Like all choices, there are pros and cons and your personal circumstances need to be considered. Your existing lender will already have a relationship with you, so they may be able to see that you’ve never missed a payment. They’re also more likely to take fewer years of accounts than a different lender who’s assessing you as a risk for the first time.

However, staying with your existing lender may be less competitive as an existing customer, making changing your remortgage an attractive option. Your existing lender might incentivise your loyalty by reducing or eliminating some of the fees for transferring you on to a new product. A remortgage adviser can take a look at all of the pros and cons with you and ensure that you understand the choices you have. 

Are Self-Employed Remortgage Deals More Expensive?

No, self-employed remortgages aren’t necessarily more expensive than any other type of mortgage.  A remortgage is based on risk, and risk is based on a number of different factors, such as your credit score, how much of your house you own, and how much you earn each month. 

If you need further information on this topic, or to speak to one of our expert advisers, give us a call on 0330 433 2927 or enquire online.