First Time Buyer Contractor Income With Employment Gap

The Clients

The applicant was a First-Time Buyer working as a contractor within a specialist professional field. They had an established career within the same industry and had recently secured a new contract, placing them in a position to purchase their first home.

The Challenge

Although the client had strong earning potential, their employment history created difficulties with many lenders. The applicant had a 12-month gap in contracting between 2024 and 2025, which restricted options due to continuity requirements for contractor income.

Many lenders expect:

Continuous contracting history
Recent contract evidence or payslips
Minimal or no breaks in employment

As a result, automated underwriting systems were declining the application despite the client’s experience and long-term earning capacity.

The Solution

We reviewed lenders willing to take a more pragmatic view of contractor applicants and presented the case based on the applicant’s wider professional background rather than solely recent income documents.

We evidenced:

Previous contracting history within the same sector
Consistent industry experience
The security and duration of the current contract
The sustainability of income moving forward

By clearly explaining the reason for the employment gap and demonstrating an established career path, the application was assessed on its overall merits rather than purely automated underwriting.

We secured the mortgage on the following terms:

Purchase price: £409,000

Loan amount: £368,100 (90% LTV)

Rate: 3.93% fixed

Term: 30 years

Monthly payment: £1,742 pcm

The Outcome

A full mortgage offer was issued within just three days, allowing the client to proceed with their purchase smoothly and without delay.

Despite a non-standard income history that had restricted options elsewhere, the client was able to secure a mortgage for their first home. The case highlights that contractor applicants even with employment gaps can still obtain lending when the application is structured correctly and presented to the right underwriting team.