Self-Employed Homebuyer
The way your income gets reviewed is not the same as a regular paycheck. That is a documentation question, not a verdict on whether you qualify.
Documentation. That is usually the biggest thing.
The way income gets reviewed can be different from somebody receiving a regular paycheck. This is also the area where what you make in your business and what can be used for mortgage qualification are not necessarily the same number, which surprises people more than anything else about the process.
Is it harder? We would call it different. It can be more detailed. But we do not like telling somebody that because they are self-employed this is going to be difficult. Let us look at it first.
Rather than a generic list where most of it does not apply to you, four questions about how your business is set up, and then only the parts that follow from your answers. Nothing is sent anywhere.
This describes what is commonly reviewed, not what is required. What any specific program asks for depends on the program, the lender and your file, and this is not a quote, an offer, a credit decision or a recommendation. Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Equal Housing Opportunity.
How your income is likely to be viewed, and which documents actually apply to you.
It depends on you, which is not a dodge. Typically we are documenting income, employment and assets, but a W-2 employee looks different from somebody self-employed, and somebody with retirement income looks different again.
And whatever we end up needing most on a given day is usually the one document nobody has ready, because it is something you have not had to look at in years. That is completely normal and it is not a problem.
This is the part worth understanding early, because it is where expectations and reality most often separate.
What your business earns and what can be used to qualify for a mortgage are reviewed differently. That is not a judgment about your business. It is how the review works, and it is the reason a self-employed file tends to be more detailed rather than simply harder.
The practical consequence is that guessing at your own number, or using an online calculator built around a regular paycheck, will usually give you the wrong picture. It is worth having somebody look at the real documents before you build a plan on an estimate.
Complicated and impossible are not the same thing
Talk through your own situationWe like it when somebody starts the call with, mine is complicated. Because a lot of the time it really is not. There are just more pieces.
Maybe they are self-employed. Maybe they own another property. Maybe they have multiple income sources. Maybe something changed recently. And they have been sitting there assuming all of those pieces automatically make them difficult.
We do not look at it that way. Tell us the story, then give us the documents. Let us separate what actually matters from what only feels messy because you do not deal with mortgages every day.
People apologize for their financial situation. You do not need to apologize. This is what we do.
Samantha Shelton has been a licensed loan officer since May 2020 and founded Align Lending in August 2020. Before mortgages she was a stay-at-home mom raising three boys.
In her own words: "I own a mortgage brokerage in Michigan and I help people understand their options before they make one of the biggest financial decisions they are ever going to make."
Recognition includes Hall of AIME, NAMB Broker of the Year, and Woman with Vision, along with her leadership work with AIME.
Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
Read Samantha's storySamantha made the process easy and was very quick to respond to any questions we had along the way.
Individual experience. Results vary.
If yours is not here, ask it on the call. There are no dumb questions.
Because what your business earns and what can be used to qualify are reviewed differently. That is not a judgment about your business. It is how the review works, and it is why a self-employed file tends to be more detailed rather than simply harder.
Different. It can be more detailed. We do not like telling somebody that because they are self-employed this is going to be difficult, because that is a conclusion drawn before anybody looked at the file.
That depends on your situation and how your income is structured. It is one of the first things worth establishing, and it is a short conversation rather than a long one.
Then the review is more detailed, not impossible. Say so at the start so the document list is right the first time.
Do not make a major financial or structural move without talking to your loan officer first. Sometimes people make a change thinking it helps when they did not need to.
Is it harder? We would call it different. It can be more detailed. Let us look at it first.
Not what product you want. What you are actually trying to accomplish.
A licensed Align loan officer works out what matters most for you specifically.
Your options, the tradeoffs, and your next step. No obligation to go further.
Background from the Align Learn Center, if you want to read before you talk to anybody.
Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. This page is for educational purposes only. It is not a credit decision, a preapproval, a commitment to lend, or an offer of credit, and it does not evaluate your eligibility for any loan program.
