Really depressed - returning expat and self employed

[PartyRingFan]

I'm single, 36, been self employed for 10 years in an EU country, returned to the UK and its like I'm worth nothing.
I'm not even eligible for a credit builder credit card according to the eligibility checkers.
I guess I'm never going to be able to get a mortgage am I? Despite having good savings and sole trader records for 10 years, they're not from the UK so they don't count.
I don't understand what I'm supposed to do about my situation and I feel incredibly depressed about it. My Experian score is 860 but I can't get any kind of CC because I don't have 3 years of address history in the UK.
By the time I file my first year of accounts in the UK it will be 2024, I'll be 37, and that will only be one year of accounts from lenders' perspective as nothing done outside the UK counts.
Should I just give up on ever owning anything?

No, keep saving so your deposit is big and your mortgage low.

Have you tried approaching brokers for a mortgage?

Is it because you are self employed? Can you set up a limited company instead and pay yourself a wage for 6 months? We got a mortgage after 1 year after returning from 5 years living abroad but we were employed and selling a buy to let we had in the UK. Talk to a mortgage broker.

Depends what sort of business you are in.

If you are in building trades (electrician, building, plumbing, decoration) there is a massive shortage of people at the moment.

You could work for 3 years saving a stack of money and then be ready to take advantage just as house prices are bottoming out from the colossal interest rate rises.

Why would you think you need to give up ever owning anything? If you’ve only just returned home, you need to give it time and build up a history. You should have been aware of this when you left as part of your research.

If you’re bothered so much about not being able to get immediate credit and to own things (which in itself is a bit of a contradiction since borrowing is not owning), presumably you’ve done well abroad and have been working towards building your financial nest egg. That will stand you in good stead in a few years.

If you haven’t put things in place so far to be comfortable financially, ask yourself why it matters so much now and why you feel you are desperate for it to all happen yesterday? Credit can be a good think occasionally but for the majority of things, just save up. For a house, now is not a great time to buy anyway so save and put plans in place to buy in a few years.