CASE STUDY – Mortgage Finance For Self -Employed Partner Purchasing £1.5m New Home

Exe Mortgages was approached by a self-employed client; a highly qualified legal professional and partner in a respected legal and investment firm.

They approached us with a time-sensitive property requirement. Based in Yorkshire, they were looking to relocate their family home to be closer to their children’s schools, a move that would significantly improve their family’s quality of life and daily routine.

The property they had identified was substantial, valued at £1.5 million, and they needed to secure £580,000 in mortgage funding to complete the purchase. As a successful professional with a strong track record in the legal sector, this should have been a straightforward application under normal circumstances. However, their recent career transition had created some unique challenges that required specialist expertise to navigate.

A recent move from employed partner status to self-employed partner in a large Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) had fundamentally changed how lenders would assess their application. This transition, whilst representing career progression and increased earning potential, had inadvertently complicated what should have been a routine mortgage application.

The primary obstacle our client faced was the timing of their career transition relative to their mortgage application. Having only recently changed from employed to self-employed, they had been in their new role for just one month when they needed to secure mortgage funding.

This presented a significant challenge because traditional lending criteria typically require self-employed applicants to provide at least one to two years of accounts or trading history to demonstrate income stability. Despite the client’s extensive professional background and proven track record in the legal sector, lenders were reluctant to proceed without the standard evidence of self-employed income.

The situation was particularly frustrating because the client’s new role actually offered higher earning potential than their previous employed position. The LLP’s Finance Director was able to provide confirmation of projected year one income, but most lenders remained hesitant to accept projected earnings in place of historical evidence, regardless of the professional standing of both the client and the firm providing the projections.

Drawing on 17 years of experience in complex mortgage scenarios, we recognised that this case required a nuanced approach that went beyond standard lending criteria. Our strategy focused on presenting the client’s situation within the broader context of their professional journey and the transferable nature of their legal expertise.

We leveraged our strong relationships with key lenders to have detailed discussions about the merits of the case, explaining why we believed it warranted consideration outside standard policy parameters. Our approach emphasised the client’s established track record, professional qualifications, and the security provided by their partnership in a well-regarded LLP.

The key was positioning this not as a speculative self-employed venture, but as a career progression within the same professional field. We worked closely with the client to compile a comprehensive application that demonstrated their professional stability, even within the context of their recent employment status change. Our established relationships allowed us to engage in meaningful dialogue with underwriters, presenting the case on its individual merits rather than simply submitting it through standard automated processes.

We successfully secured high street lending through a lender who applied sensible, pragmatic underwriting to the client’s unique circumstances. The key breakthrough came when the lender agreed to use the client’s historic employed income as a benchmark, recognising that their professional skillset and experience provided reassurance about their earning capacity.

The underwriter’s approach was particularly astute. They acknowledged that if the self-employed partnership arrangement didn’t work out, the client possessed the qualifications and experience to return to a similar employed role, given their strong professional background. This provided the lender with confidence about the client’s long-term income stability.

The higher partnership income projections actually added further confidence to the application, demonstrating upward career trajectory rather than increased risk. The relatively low loan-to-value ratio of 40% also provided additional security, making the overall proposition very attractive from a risk perspective.

The outcome exceeded our client’s expectations. Not only did we secure the funding they needed, but we achieved this through a mainstream high street lender rather than having to resort to specialist or more expensive alternative lending options. This meant competitive rates and standard terms, despite the unconventional timing of their application.

Our client was absolutely delighted with the result, expressing that they were “over the moon” to be able to proceed with their house move. Most importantly, they could now relocate closer to their children’s schools, achieving their primary objective of improving their family’s daily life and providing better educational convenience for their children.

David Grimshaw, Managing Director