Home loans for the Self Employed

Often the big banks make self-employed workers jump through extra hoops to get a home loan, or simply classify them as too high-risk. However, at Pepper Money, we can help those who have a non-standard income – even those with just 6 months ABN or BAS activity.

Depending on the level of documentation that can be provided, self-employed borrowers commonly fall into two buckets; full doc and alt doc.

Learn about the difference here

There are two types of income documentation options available for self-employed borrowers; full documentation (Full Doc) and alternative documentation (Alt Doc). 

We also consider a range of income types for the self-employed including: 

• Net profit before tax
• Director wages/salaries
• Addback of Depreciation
• Addback of Interest on debts being refinanced
• Addback of Superannuation contribution in excess of 9.5%
• Interest & Dividend income

Note: All applications are subject to thorough credit assessment and loan suitability criteria. If you have any questions, give us a call on 13 73 77.

If you work for yourself or fall under the category of ‘self-employed’, applying for a home loan can be quite a challenge even with regular income. Unfortunately, many lenders perceive self-employed people as high-risk borrowers.

But this does not necessarily mean you cannot qualify for a home loan. It just means you might need to provide a little extra documentation and look beyond the big banks for a lending solution. Here are some tips and tricks to get your loan application approved:

Home loan tips for self-employed

At Pepper Money we can finance home purchases of up to 95% LVR, which means you can start to look at buying a house once you’ve saved at least 5% of the purchase price.

Remember, there can be extra costs involved when buying a house. You’ll often need to cover government and legal fees after settlement, which can’t be added to your home loan balance.

At Pepper Money, we offer a range of variable interest rates depending on your individual circumstances and the product you apply for. A decision on your rate will be based on a range of different factors including;

• The amount you need to borrow against the property value; known as the Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR)
• The size of your deposit
• Your source of income
• Credit history
• Assets and liabilities 
• And whether the loan is to purchase an owner-occupied property or an investment property. 

Click here to learn more about our home loan products, or to get an indicative interest rate speak to one of our Lending Specialists on 137 377. 

There are fees and charges associated with every home loan which should be factored in when saving your deposit. For example, establishment/application fee, monthly administration fee, legal fees, stamp duty and mortgage risk fee (if applicable). 

Get in touch with one of our Lending Specialists on 137 377 to understand the full list of fees on a Pepper Money home loan and when these might apply. Alternatively you can view a high level summary of our home loan fees here. 

Your Pepper Money Home Loan Journey can take up to six weeks – this is the typical timeframe for a home purchase, however the process may be quicker if all the necessary documentation is provided sooner. 

Delays in decisions are often caused by incorrect or missing documentation. 

To learn more about Pepper Money Home Loan application process, click here or for more information speak to a Lending Specialists on 137 377.

Our home loan borrowing capacity calculator asks a few personal and financial questions to calculate an estimate of how much you may be able to borrow with Pepper Money. After finding out how much you could potentially borrow, you can then either speak to a lending specialist about your situation, or continue on to get an indicative interest rate online.

See how much I can borrow

We are Australia’s number 1 non-bank lender - we’ve been awarded Best Non-Bank Lender three times – in 2017 and 2019 at the Australian Mortgage Awards and in 2018 at the Australian Lending Awards.

We live our mission every day: to help you succeed.

We specialise in working on each individual application so we can fully understand your real life situation and help find a suitable solution.

We were set up in 2000 to provide a fresh alternative for those people who needed a home loan that banks weren’t prepared to offer. We now also provide car loans, personal loans, loans for professional equipment, and commercial loans. Learn more about us here.