After working as a Mortgage Broker for coming up to 10 years, I thought it would be interesting to write about some of the occupations we have come across over the years and where we have been able to help get Mortgages for unusual jobs.
Mortgages for Influencers or people on social media
10 years ago this was not really a thing (as far as I am aware), but is something that is becoming a little more common for us. My cousin is classed as an Influencer on Instagram, although that is more because he is well known in his industry and social media is not his main source of income.
It is an interesting one this, as it is in effect a very new industry we have come across some lenders who think it could be a flash in the pan and a short lived income source meaning that although on the face of it the applicant fits criteria and passes affordability, the underwriter did not like the source of income as they did not believe it was sustainable long term.
That being said we have been able to place these types of applications at market leading rates, so it should not cost you more purely because of your source of income.
Mortgage for Actors
We have a couple of Actors we have helped over the years. The type of actor varies from Film and TV through to stage acting, but all actors are usually assessed in the same way and we can usually either look at using the income declared on your tax returns or if you are expecting a large upturn in work and have your contracts in place etc, then we may be able to find lenders who will work off income expected.
It is not impossible to work off a projection in this scenario as you would usually have signed contracts etc, however it is not quite that simple. If you are signing up to play a part in a project that will go on for many years (a series for example or in the West End) that would more likely be accepted than if you have landed a big part in a one off.
As with any application it all comes down to the details and we would generally speaking sit down with you to talk through what you are hoping to achieve and go from there.
In terms of rates available when looking at Mortgages for unusual jobs, generally speaking and all other things being equal, we would be looking at normal rates to those with normal jobs.
We should be looking at normal rates but we may need specialist lenders if you are looking to use future incomes where you are expecting a large increase.
Seafarer’ Mortgage
This was something I had never heard of until the customers email landed on my desk. I had to go and read up on what the job entailed to understand it before I went and spoke to some lenders.
This is quite an interesting one as I really thought it would be near enough impossible to place or the rates would be very high. As it happens, it is quite easy to place and at normal interest rates but your choice of lenders is very restricted. The downside there is that if there are any other complications to overcome, you may find your options limited.
Mortgages for Sports people
We have helped a couple of sports people over the years, this is quite a complicated one. Generally speaking sports people have a limited time doing their sport – maybe 10-15 years.
Many sports people are also self employed or have a limited company to handle their image rights and sponsorship deals so we understand that there can be multiple sources of income and that some self employed mortgage applications may be complex.
Another, crucial question lenders have is what will happen after you finish being a professional athlete?
That is not a major problem, but we usually need to consider what your income will be after you finish, will there be a drop and if so, how much of a drop? As an example, I have a friend who was a professional boxer, he was very good and fought all over the world even having a World Title fight in the US. Once he retired, he then became a trainer, in terms of income there was probably a drop, but maybe not a significant one and actually his income is now more reliable earning money every month rather than 2-3 big pay days a year.
Overview
Most of these occupations are unusual, but some are or can be quite high earning so in terms of Mortgages for unusual jobs, as long as the lender understands the job, and the affordability works out, then it can be straightforward.
But if the income is quite complex, what we try to do is to simplify things. We obtain the information we need and we can speak to people like managers, accountants etc if needed.
Whilst these occupations are quite glamorous or unusual, we do what we do with everyone and sit down to understand your circumstances and what you want from your mortgage… Do you want the cheapest, easiest, quickest lender or the lender who may be prepared to lend the most even if it is a little more work. Once we have had those conversations we then sit down, do the research and come back to you with some options before moving forward.
One thing I think is important to mention is that regardless of where your income comes from or the type of job you have, it does not necessarily mean it will cost you more to get a Mortgage or even be hard to place, a lot of the time it just comes down to knowing who to apply to.
If you have an unusual job and are in need of a mortgage, please do get in touch. We love something different to get our teeth into.