Mortgages for the self-employed

As soon as you know how much you can borrow, you’ll know which home price category you can start looking in. Once you find your dream home, it’s time to make an offer and perhaps negotiate a price.

Has your offer been accepted? Congratulations! Now it’s time to arrange the mortgage. During the advice meeting, you and your mortgage adviser will discuss the details of your mortgage. This includes: 

• the repayment methods, fixed-rate periods and types of mortgage you can choose from 
• the costs involved in buying a home 
• the amount you intend to invest yourself 
• whether you need to withdraw money from your business and if so, how much 
• the risks involved, both now and in the future 
• how situations such as occupational disability and unemployment would affect your financial situation 
• the insurance you want to take out to cover any risks. 

The adviser will talk to you about these matters and help you ensure a good balance between your dream home and your business ambitions. You can be confident that the mortgage you take out is right for you, both now and in the future. 

If you already know a lot about mortgages, you can select Mortgage Self-Service. You will not be given advice about your mortgage or the risks involved. You will simply choose the mortgage that is right for you. This keeps the costs down, as you will only be charged a handling fee (no advice fee).

During the mortgage advice meeting, the adviser will explain exactly which documents you need. These will provide the details of the new home, your civil status and your current home (if you own one), for example. This goes for everyone who applies for a mortgage. We also need a few extra documents if you are self-employed, so that we can understand your financial situation. These include: 

• the complete annual accounts for the past three years, compiled by you or by an accountant 
• income tax returns from the past three years 
• a financial prognosis for the forthcoming year, drawn up by a bookkeeper or accountant

Once you have supplied all the documents, your mortgage adviser will submit your mortgage application. You may be given an interest offer at this point. This shows your decisions regarding the mortgage and the relevant interest rate. You might be asked to provide extra documents. 

Your application will be assessed once you’ve agreed to the interest rate you’ve been offered and provided all the required documents. You will get the final go-ahead and receive a mortgage offer once the mortgage has been approved. This is a binding document, so make sure that you read it carefully before signing. The mortgage offer is valid for 14 days.

As soon as your mortgage has been arranged you can go to a notary to sign both the transfer deed and the mortgage deed. Now you are the official owner of the property. Time to break out the champagne!

Once you’ve been to the notary and signed the transfer deed and mortgage deed, the mortgage will have been finalised. We can imagine that you’d like to see how your mortgage is developing every now and then, or that you’d like to make an additional repayment on occasion. It’s easy to keep on top of your mortgage in your My Mortgage personal environment. Here you can also adjust your interest rate or the type of mortgage, assuming your mortgage conditions allow this. 

If you have any questions about your mortgage, your home or your business, our specialists are ready and waiting to help you.