childminders and mortgages!

[vicki2010]

Hi there, am possibly going to be purchasing our first property within the next two years (with deposit help!) but as a childminder my expenses are high so my profit is low and wondered what figures the bank will take into account when lending? anyone had problems with this and if so what were your experiences, did anyone switch from doing their own accounts to using an accountant and did anyone decide not to put down less expenses so earnings overall are higher for mortgage purposes? thanks for any help and advice you may give!

Not good
Lots of lenders are unsure to lend to SE people and when they see your books.......

I appled for a credit card and was turned down as im SE even tho i have a morgage and a good credit rating

...some lenders like you to have your own accountant.We were turned down by several places because i do my own accounts and don't use an accountant.

I've never had a problem with a SE mortgage, we move it every 3 or 4 years too to a better deal. DH self employed too. We have a £300k mortgage on a £750k house. My cm income is quite considerable, expenses generally 35-40%, I declare everything too!

London and Country mortgages are supposed to be good for self employed people.

So it probably is best to get an accountant for next couple of years to give up a better chance o more?f borrowing

Flaming predictive text!!

To give us a better chance of being able to borrow more!

I don't think an accountant makes any difference, ours didn't have any input rothe application and was not aware of us changing until we tell home. We do however have an excellent financial advisor, which maybe what you really need.

but dont the mortgage company need 'official' proof of earnings? so ideally an accountant who has completed your tax return?

I'm SE (not a cm) and my accountant is always being pestered for references when we've rented or got a new mortgage so I think it does help to have one. But yes, in my experience they use the earnings after expenses figure to calculate what they'll lend, unfortunately.

We've got a mortgage based on my dh's self-employed earnings. They took our SA302 forms for the past 3 years (the forms you get back from HMRC confirming your figures - if you submit electronically you can ring up and ask for paper copies). They also asked for copies of last 6 month's bank statements, to check that they weren't in fact bailing out a failing business.

Thanks for all the replies! Still none the wiser as to whether or not i should get an accountant,would it make a difference? Any more advice would be welcome,many thanks V