Buying a home is hard work and it can be even harder if you're self employed
If looking to buy with a mortgage and you're self employed, you might need to earn £80,000 or more to buy the average UK home.
Wait, why?
Well, the average home in the UK now costs £295,0001. Unless you've got a huge deposit, you'll probably need the help of a mortgage to buy a home like it.
And it'll be even worse if the home you really want is worth more than the average.
But here’s the bad news...
On average the amount that mortgage lenders might offer you if you're a self-employed first-time buyer is just 3.55 times your income.
While that sounds like a lot, here's what it actually looks like for that averagely priced home if you had a 5% deposit:
| House price | Average mortgage amount | Deposit you might need |
|---|---|---|
| £264,000 | £216,000 | £48,000 |
| £96,000 | £168,000 |
| House price | Average mortgage amount | Deposit you might need |
|---|---|---|
| £266,000 | £216,000 | £50,000 |
| £96,000 | £170,000 |
The reality for self-employed buyers
According to research3, over a third of all self-employed people who apply for a mortgage get rejected and almost a third of self-employed mortgages have been branded 'unaffordable'.
So, mortgages may not work and it could be hard to save a deposit. Where does this leave you?
One option is to work on building up your deposit to eventually buy the kind of home you want with a mortgage.
But that could be years away while you try to save, rent and run a business all at the same time.
Another option is to buy a home worth up to 10 times your income, without a mortgage and with just a 5% deposit.
We call it Gradual Homeownership.
Increased buying power
There’s no mortgage so you aren’t limited by how much you can borrow.
You could buy a home worth up to 10 times your household income from just a 5% deposit.
Your deposit goes further
We can accept a minimum of 1 year's worth of business accounts when you apply.
Applying is easy
See what you could afford with Gradual Homeownership
Unmortgage Ltd (registered in England and Wales, Company No. 10395239) and its subsidiaries comprise the Unmortgage Group. Our registered office is at 9 Appold St, London EC2A 2AP.
Wayhome is a trading name of the Unmortgage Group.
Unmortgage Arrangers Ltd, a subsidiary of Unmortgage Ltd (registered in England and Wales, Company No. 11842567), is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number 838366) for arranging and administering insurance policies only and is also registered as an EMD Agent of Modulr FS Limited (Firm Reference Number 902968). Modulr FS Limited is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Electronic Money Institution (Firm Reference Number: 900573). Your money is held in a segregated and safeguarded account under e-money regulation.
No other aspect of the Unmortgage Group’s business falls within the scope of financial services regulation. This means you do not have any of the protections under the FCA rules and do not have any cover from the Financial Ombudsman Scheme or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in relation to your interest in an LLP. Customers should ensure they understand what this means before they use the Wayhome product.
For full details relating to our regulatory position please see our Regulatory Information Page.
Wayhome Property Management Ltd, a subsidiary of Unmortgage Ltd, is a member of The Property Redress Scheme (membership number PRS025713), which covers activities in relation to the purchase of the home, the setting up and management of tenancy and the management of maintenance of the home.
Wayhome Nominees Ltd (registered in England and Wales, Company No. 13085562) is a subsidiary of Unmortgage Ltd.
1. ONS House Price Index, November 2022
2. Uk Finance, Mortgage Trends Data, Q1 2021
3. Mortgage Broker Tools research, December 2022
Key benefits of Gradual Homeownership
In short, nobody lends you any money. That’s why there’s no mortgage.
Instead, you just need a minimum 5% deposit and we* pay for the rest.
You own the part you buy, and you pay rent to us on the share you don’t own yet.
Buy gradually in 5 simple steps
1
You buy the bit you can afford today.
We pay for the rest
2
The house is paid for in full.
So you don’t need a mortgage.
3
You own the bit you bought.
You pay rent for the rest.
4
But, the home is yours to make your own.
Nobody can ask you to leave.
5
Buy more each month or in lump sums.
The more you buy, the less rent you pay.
Now accepting applications if you're self-employed
And it's only getting harder if you're self employed
* 'we' 'us' and 'our' refer to Wayhome and/or their funding partners
Featured in
Your rent is worked out by looking at local rents and subtracting your ownership. So if the home would normally cost £1,000 to rent and you own 5%, you only pay £950.
Over time, buy more of your home whenever you want to. The more you buy, the less rent you pay.
We want you to eventually own 100% of the home. Buy more of it regularly each month, or in lump sums, but only if you want to.
How we help you buy a home
To buy with us you'll need a minimum:
£24,000 household income
5% deposit
To buy with us you'll need a minimum:
Meet the Payne family
Before they found us, they were renting and struggling to buy that 3-bed home they really wanted.
They did all the sensible things like reading up on the different options out there and seeing what they could afford.
However, they didn't have much luck.
Despite earning good incomes, they couldn't get a big enough mortgage to make their ideal move a reality.
“We had a really nasty shock when we realised how little most high street lenders would be prepared to lend us given the size of our deposit.
It really opened my eyes to just how unfair the mortgage system is."
That's where we come into their story.
Having found Wayhome when looking at new ways to buy, they got their homeownership search started with us.
After viewing a few homes, they soon found just what they'd been looking for. A 3-bed house in the area they know and love.
After helping them make an offer, they moved in to their new family home in time for Christmas.
Can we help you too?
Start your search with us by signing up and seeing what you could afford with Gradual Homeownership.
“For anyone who has good credit, reasonable household income but not a big enough deposit, this is the perfect route to getting on the ladder.
It was important for us to own our home and have that sense of security, and we treat our staircasing payments just as we would a mortgage.”
Being self-employed, Rob thought that he and his family might never get on the property ladder...until they found Wayhome.
Being self-employed, Rob thought that he and his family might never get on the property ladder...until they found Wayhome.
Who Wayhome is for
You have slightly more complex finances which makes getting a mortgage harder.
You're forced to save a massive deposit
Because lenders aren't lending much, you're forced to save tens of thousands as a deposit.
You want a Shariah compliant option
You don't want a mortgage with interest and you're not happy with existing Shariah compliant options.
You're self employed
The new way to buy if you're self-employed
Buy a home worth up to 10 times your income with just a 5% deposit
Can we help you too?
Start your search with us by signing up and seeing what you could afford with Gradual Homeownership.
| House price | 5% Deposit | Mortgage amount* |
Average income needed to get this mortgage |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £12,500 | £237,500 | £66,901 |
| £300,000 | £15,000 | £285,000 | £80,281 |
| £350,000 | £17,500 | £332,500 | £93,661 |
| £400,000 | £20,000 | £380,000 | £107,042 |
| £450,000 | £22,500 | £427,500 | £120,422 |
| £500,000 | £25,000 | £475,000 | £133,802 |
*Based on a bank lending 3.552 times your salary as a first-time buyer
| House price | Average income needed to get this mortgage |
|---|---|
| £250,000 | £67,090 |
| £300,000 | £80,508 |
| £350,000 | £93,927 |
| £400,000 | £107,345 |
| £450,000 | £120,763 |
| £500,000 | £134,181 |
It can be rough if you're relying on a mortgage
Only 5% min. deposit
You bring the 5%, we pay for the remaining 95%*
*£7,500 min. deposit and £24,000 min. household income
Flexible ownership
Only pay rent on the part of the home you haven't bought yet. Buy more each month or in lump sums. Buy us out when you can.
Live debt-free and avoid paying interest
We buy with you, so there’s no mortgage, no loan and no interest. We’re also a certified Shariah compliant option.
Buy a home worth up to 10x your income
We look at what you can afford differently—you could end up in a home worth up to 10x your income.
