Stress-free home loans for the self-employed

Being self-employed doesn't mean that you can't own your home. The big banks can make it difficult for self-employed workers to get a home loan, often requiring them to jump through extra hoops or labelling them as too high-risk. As a non-bank lender, we're here to help those with non-standard incomes – including those with only 6 months of ABN or GST registration.

We take a careful look at both your personal and business cash flow to ensure that you can comfortably make your regular home loan repayments. Depending on the level of documentation that you can provide, self-employed borrowers generally fall into two categories: full doc or alt doc.

If you're self-employed and are looking at applying for a home loan, it can be challenging due to the lack of a fixed income that many lenders require as part of the process. However, non-bank lenders like Pepper Money may still be able to help you with our flexible approach to self-employed home loan options.

Lenders look at your finances, business turnover, and credit history to determine your ability to repay the loan.

Providing evidence of income is important when applying for a self-employed home loan. This typically includes bank statements, ABN registration, and GST documents that will be reviewed to assess your creditworthiness.

Committing to a larger deposit could also increase your chances of securing a self-employed home loan and reduce interest charges. 

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

It could be helpful to provide all the financial documents and income evidence that you have available to help qualify for a full doc home loan. This could put you in a better position to borrow more and potentially secure a more favourable interest rate.

Here are some of the requirements needed to apply for a home loan if you’re self-employed:

For Full Doc:

• Last two years tax returns and notice of assessments

For Alt Doc:

1. Evidence of ABN registration for 6 months
2. Evidence of GST registration for 6 months
3. Declaration of financial position plus one of the following: 6 months business bank statements (inclusive of the last 1 month), 6 months business activity statements (BAS) or Pepper Money accountant's letter.

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. Lenders may need to establish your income, assets, savings, and financial capacity to pay back a loan before considering your application. They may also look at the financial position of your business. 

But this does not necessarily mean you cannot qualify for a home loan. When you're self-employed, 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 help get your loan application approved.

On some of our loans, we offer finance up to 95% of the purchase price, meaning you can start to look at buying a house once you've saved at least 5% of the purchase price. The deposit amount may also depend on the property and area you’re looking at purchasing.

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

The interest rate offered, and fees and charges will depend on our assessment of a number of factors at the time of application including:

• The size of your deposit
• Nature of the security property
• Loan to value ratio (LVR)
• Your income
• Credit history
• Any assets you own
• Any liabilities or credit obligations
• Chosen repayment type – paying off interest-only, or principal and interest
• The purpose of the loan – if it’s for an owner-occupier or investment property

To get an indicative interest rate, you can start by using our online borrowing power calculator, or speak to one of our Lending Specialists on 137 377.

Certain Pepper Money fees can be added to your loan balance, while others will need to be paid upfront – fees include establishments or application fees, and risk or mortgage insurance fees. Other smaller fees will be added to your loan each month. 

View a summary of our home loan fees.   

You’ll also need to pay solicitor fees along with local and state government taxes and levies. These can’t be added to your loan balance and are usually paid upon settlement.

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. 

Learn more about Pepper Money Home Loan application process or for more information speak to a Lending Specialist on 137 377.

Our home loan borrowing capacity calculator asks a few easy 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’re one of Australia's leading non-bank lenders! 

We were established in 2000 to help Australians achieve their financial dreams through providing flexible financial solutions that factor in the ups and downs of real life. Since then, we’ve become one of the largest, most trusted, and award-winning non-bank lenders in Australia and New Zealand. 

If you're self-employed, then submit an online enquiry or call our team on 137 377.