- The income is real and the form has nowhere to put it
- Company profit, retained earnings, contract work, rental income, a settlement payment. None of it fits the box marked “salary”, and an assessment built around a payslip will read it badly unless somebody sets it out properly first.
- The file is bigger than average, and so is the cost of getting it wrong
- A declined application leaves a mark on your credit file that the next lender can see. On a complicated file the order you approach lenders in matters, and going to the wrong one first can cost you the one that would have said yes.
- You’re not picking someone you like. You’re picking someone who won’t lose you the deal
- Which is a sensible way to choose. It’s why every page here tells you what I do, in what order, and what you get in writing, instead of telling you how much I care.
When I’m not the right person
If you’re on a salary, buying a first home, with a clean file and a standard deposit, almost any competent broker can help you and a few online lenders will do it without one at all. You don’t need me. I’ll say so on the call rather than take the file. Where I’m useful is the file that’s already been looked at once and handed back an answer with no reason attached.