Published 25 September 2019 · Last reviewed 25 September 2019 · Older article — see current rates

Self Employed Mortgages for photographers working under a sole trader or limited company

This mortgage article is aimed at professional Photographers that have an element of self employed income and therefore make a tax return submission to HMRC.

As a Photographer, it is likely your work is seasonal. Weddings; graduations, party conferences, concerts, Christmas parties, festivals, film sets, the list goes on and on. It, therefore, can be quiet challenging for you to get a high mortgage, particularly if your business is in the fledgeling years.

Mortgages for Photographers can involve the amalgamation of income from various sources to obtain the maximum mortgage. It could be employed to work from agencies and private freelance work on a self employed basis.

Behind the surface, this might include single or multiple assignment contracts, be held as a sole trader or limited company basis with your own staff.

Mortgage Lenders have different appetites to self employed earnings particularly if the books are up and down – which in all honesty is typical of most businesses. These fluctuations can make mortgage lenders nervous and they can use blunt appraisals to your detriment so choosing the right one is likely to require professional help from a Mortgage Brokerage such as Niche Advice.

Some Photographers have a passion for conducting gigs abroad or its where the availability of work takes them. This could again be problematic for mortgage lenders as the income could be in a different currency and some need you to be permanently based in the UK for a few years prior to application. You also want a mortgage suitable for letting if you are to be out of the country for a long period.

As you can see it can get complex quite quickly.

My company Niche Advice thrives on challenges and here are examples of the types of mortgages we can arrange from our panel of over 80 lenders:

• Self-employed using the latest net profit figures.
• Self-employed using average earnings across previous years.
• Self-employed trading just a year.
• Self-employed and employed earnings added together.
• Agency work.
• Limited Company using drawn salary and dividends.
• Limited Company using profit before tax plus salary.
• Contractors using hourly or daily rates.
• Mortgages or remortgages for properties to rent out i.e. buy to let.
• Expat mortgages.
• Mortgages for applicants returning to the UK.

Niche Advice arranges mortgages Self Employed for Photographers. For more information please complete our contact form on this website.