Bank statement loans for the self-employed.

The problem this solves

Agency underwriting reads two years of tax returns and uses your net income after deductions. If you are self-employed and your accountant is doing their job, that number is deliberately as small as the law allows. You are penalized at the mortgage desk for being efficient at tax time.

A bank statement loan qualifies you on the money actually moving through your accounts instead — typically twelve or twenty-four months of statements, business or personal depending on the program.

Who it fits

• Business owners and sole traders with strong revenue and heavy write-offs
• Contractors and gig workers with irregular but real income
• Anyone who has been told by another lender that they do not make enough, while knowing perfectly well that they do

The honest trade-off

These loans are held by private investors rather than sold to the agencies, so they price higher than a conventional loan. The comparison that matters is not bank statement versus conventional — it is bank statement versus not buying the house. For many self-employed borrowers that is the actual choice, and plenty refinance into agency financing later once their returns catch up with reality.

Bring twelve months of statements to the first call. Your officer can tell you roughly where you land before you formally apply anywhere.