95 Mortgage Approved Despite Contractor Income Overseas Deposit

The Clients

The clients were first-time buyers purchasing their first home together and required a high loan-to-value mortgage in order to proceed.

One applicant was employed on a fixed-term contract rather than permanent employment, and the deposit was being provided from funds held overseas. While both circumstances were legitimate, they fell outside standard high-street lending profiles and significantly reduced the number of lenders willing to consider the application.

The Challenge

This case presented several overlapping difficulties that made lender placement particularly complex.

Firstly, the borrowing was at 95% loan-to-value. Many lenders restrict both property types and maximum loan sizes at this level of borrowing, immediately ruling out a large portion of the market.

Secondly, one applicant was a fixed-term contractor. At high LTV, many lenders either will not accept contractor income at all or require long employment histories and very specific income calculations, making affordability assessments challenging.

Finally, the deposit originated from overseas. Although fully evidenced, some lenders are unwilling to accept non-UK sourced deposits at high LTV due to enhanced anti-money-laundering and underwriting requirements.

Individually each factor can often be managed however the combination of high LTV borrowing, non-standard employment and foreign deposit funds meant automated underwriting systems repeatedly declined the case, leaving very limited options through conventional routes.

The Solution

We carried out a detailed review of lender underwriting policy rather than relying on sourcing systems alone, focusing on lenders with manual underwriting and a pragmatic approach to income assessment.

We worked closely with the clients to fully package the application, providing:

• detailed explanation of the contractor’s employment structure and continuity of income

• a clear audit trail for the overseas deposit

• full affordability rationale demonstrating sustainability of the mortgage payments

By addressing the underwriting concerns upfront and presenting the case clearly to an underwriter, the application was assessed on its merits rather than filtered out by automated criteria.

The Outcome

The clients successfully secured a mortgage and were able to proceed with their purchase without delaying their move.

• Purchase Price: £585,000

• Loan Amount: £555,750 (95% LTV)

• Initial Rate: 4.59% fixed

• Term: 29 years

• Initial Monthly Payment: £2,920

Despite several characteristics that would commonly result in a decline, the clients were able to buy their first home without needing to accumulate a significantly larger deposit.

This case highlights how specialist broker knowledge and careful packaging can allow lenders to properly assess complex applications, enabling borrowers who fall outside standard criteria to still access the property market.