Moving but 'going self employed'.

[Newhomenewstart2018]

So we are relocating over 100 miles away. Husband could stay emplyed and travel but he wants to quit his job and work freelance in the same sector. Thing is we will probably need a small mortgage (max £50k on a £350k property). We have been with our current mortgage lender for 5 years (dept currently at 97k) and have overpaid for most of that time, the mortgage is portable not that i think that really means much! I will also need to find work once we move. Is there any chance that the bank will lend us anything unless husband stays employed??

[Misty9]

Can't he stay employed for as long as it takes to get a mortgage and then quit? They can't take it off you once lent without a good reason- ie you defaulting on payments!

[Newhomenewstart2018]

That is what I said. He wants to continue to work for the company on a freelance basis so doesn't want to mess them around. I guess he needs to talk to them to see if it's doable.

[MillStone]

The lenders I was interested in required at least 3 years of records. The lender I went with also asked for 12 months of business statements.

I heard that some lenders require less and some will negotiate if you have contracts ... and seeing as how you have a low LTV ...

Consult an independent mortgage adviser?

[Pythonesque]

I'd say you sort the mortgage out before you give up the job. Don't know how much detail they think about nowadays regarding moving areas = moving jobs. We first got our current mortgage when the bank didn't know I was on maternity leave let alone that the contract for that job was almost up ...

[Buglife]

Won’t you be applying for the mortgage/completing on the new house before you move though? He just needs to stay employed until then. They won’t ask what he plans to do once you’re in the new home.

[NurseryFightClub]

My first mortgage I was just freelance, they asked for a letter from agency to say if I was employable. This was in the height of credit crisis....

[BubblesBuddy]

They won’t just take potential earnings into account now. It’s all changed. Get the mortgage whilst employed and then move. Then quit the job. Going freelance is not always a good move - pension payments alone make it more expensive with no employer contribution. Plus the difficulty of raising money. DD is self employed in a very good profession but she needs 3 years of accounts.

You don’t need much of a mortgage but being freelance (I assume it’s not a ruse to keep the same “employer” and pay less tax) isn’t so easy if the contracts dry up. Be careful of having a single “employer” but being freelance . HMRC are greatly into this now. BBC “emoloyees” are being chased for ££££ of back tax due to being freelance but never working for anyone else.