Mortgage

Mortgages harder to come by for the self-employed

Good credit trumps more money

Self-employed borrowers claim to make much more money than the average potential homebuyers, but they also carry significantly lower credit scores, a Zillow mortgage analysis reports.

The report concludes that, despite this, self-employed borrowers are disportionately passed over by mortgage lenders.

Between property values, down payments, income and credit score, credit scores appear to be the biggest hindrance to self-employed borrowers trying to request a loan, the analysis states. 

“Despite self-employed borrowers with high incomes appearing on paper to be better situated to repay their loan, they're often overlooked by lenders. In cases like this, it really pays to shop around," said Zillow Vice President of Mortgages Erin Lantz.

Here are five areas for how self-employed borrowers compare to non-self employed borrowers.

1. Loan quote

Self-employed borrowers receive six loan quotes for every 10 received by non-self-employed borrowers.

2. Credit scores

Self-employed: 47% have self-reported credit scores below 720, while 28% have scores below 680.

Non-self employed: Only 23% have self-reported credit scores below 720, while 14% have scores below 680.

3. Property Values

Self-employed: The median property value for mortgage requests on Zillow is $352,000.

Non-self employed: The median property value for mortgage requests on Zillow is $315,000.

4. Income

Self-employed: The average self-reported household income is $145,000.

Non-self employed: The average self-reported household income is $80,000.

5. Down Payment

Self-employed: The average down payment for mortgage requests on Zillow was 15.3%.

Non-self employed: The average down payment for mortgage requests on Zillow was 14.6%.

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