Financing for Freelancers?
As a writer, I basically deduct my entire life, which results in a less than impressive capital gain on my 1040. Also, I earn at least half of my income through book contracts, which come in large lump payments every few years. This is all making it very hard to get financing when trying to…
As a writer, I basically deduct my entire life, which results in a less than impressive capital gain on my 1040. Also, I earn at least half of my income through book contracts, which come in large lump payments every few years. This is all making it very hard to get financing when trying to buy a house right now. Has anyone had any luck with a bank that is willing to look at a number of years of tax returns and take the average? Or to consider the gross income on the schedule C (before deductions) for financing purposes? If so can you send along his/her name and number. Thanks!
I had the same thing but it was a long time ago. Even when I re-fied & had had a 15-yr relationship w/ the bank & was reducing my liability it took a year – o.k. since rates came down during the time. In the end, believe it or not, it was Citibank who came through. They kept asking for profit & loss statement & my accountant told them she could come up w/ one but it would be a total fake. My credit rating was excellent & I’d been paying more than my mortgage for 15 yrs (which had also been a hassle to get since I was further red-lined by not only being a freelance writer but also having a medical condition). I don’t know what eventually turned them around – it seems it could only have been my nagging. But I did commit to doing all my finances through them & cut back on number of credit cards I carried – thereby reducing my exposure of going bust. If you have an existing relationship of long standing w/ a bank, I’d try them first & find out if there are guidelines you can comply with. Good luck!
My mortgage broker, Elise Leve at Manhattan Mortgage, appears to take gross sales (as well as income) into consideration. She specifically asked for all those numbers from my partner when we were getting prequalified. Still haven’t gotten a mortgage though because we haven’t found a place to buy.