Fontenot MortgageOdette Fontenot · Mortgage broker
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The loans

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The loans

Six routes to the same front door

There is no single self-employed mortgage. There are several products with genuinely different rules, and most of the work is choosing the one your file fits before anyone talks about rate.

Every figure on these pages is illustrative. Programme rules change, and they change differently at each lender.

  1. A desk with receipts, printed statements and a pen.01

    12 or 24 months of deposits

    Bank statement loans

    Your deposits are the income document. No tax returns, no W-2s, no employer to call.

    • Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs who write off aggressively and show little net profit
    • Partners and S-corp owners with 25% or more of the business
    • Anyone whose last two tax years look wildly different from each other
    Statement period
    12 or 24 months
    Typical expense factor
    20% – 50%
    Common minimum down
    10%
    What this one needs from you
  2. Hands reviewing printed financial documents beside a laptop.02

    A prepared statement instead of statements

    Profit & loss loans

    A CPA, EA or licensed tax preparer writes the profit and loss statement. Sometimes that beats a year of deposits.

    • Businesses with a genuinely low deposit volume but healthy margins — consultants, licensed professionals
    • Owners whose revenue lands through a payment processor and looks chaotic on a bank statement
    • Anyone with a working relationship with a CPA who will sign the statement
    Statement period
    12 or 24 months
    Preparer
    CPA, EA or licensed preparer
    Cross-check
    2 months of statements
    What this one needs from you
  3. A small set of keys lying on a wooden table.03

    Savings converted into income

    Asset depletion

    You have the money but not the paperwork. A depletion loan turns liquid assets into a monthly income figure.

    • Someone who has just sold a business and has not yet started the next one
    • Retired or semi-retired buyers with large brokerage balances and small taxable income
    • Sellers between houses with a large amount of cash sitting still
    Common divisor
    60 – 120 months
    Typical haircut
    20% – 30%
    Seasoning
    2 – 3 months
    What this one needs from you
  4. A classic two-storey house exterior under a clear sky.04

    The rent qualifies, not you

    DSCR investment loans

    On an investment property the lender can underwrite the rent instead of your income. Your personal paperwork barely appears.

    • Buyers of a rental double or a small multi in Bywater, Mid-City or Algiers Point
    • Owners refinancing out of a hard-money bridge into something long-term
    • Self-employed investors whose personal file is the hard part, not the property
    Minimum ratio
    1.00 – 1.25
    Typical down
    20% – 25%
    Vacancy assumption
    5% – 10%
    What this one needs from you
  5. An organised workbench with hand tools laid out.05

    When the tax returns do work

    Conventional, self-employed

    Sometimes the returns qualify you fine and nobody has bothered to add them up properly. That is the cheapest loan in the room and I will always check it first.

    • Owners with two consistent years of returns and real net profit
    • Anyone who has been told "self-employed means non-QM" without anyone doing the arithmetic
    • Businesses with big non-cash deductions — depreciation, depletion, amortisation — that get added back
    History required
    2 years
    Common add-backs
    Depreciation, depletion, business use of home
    Down payment
    From 3%
    What this one needs from you
  6. A front porch with rocking chairs and a painted wooden door.06

    Including out of a bridge

    Refinance & cash-out

    Lower the rate, take equity out for the business, or get off a hard-money loan before the term runs out.

    • Owners on a bridge or hard-money loan with a term date approaching
    • Anyone who bought on a non-QM rate and whose paperwork has since improved
    • Business owners who want to take equity out of a house rather than sign a personal guarantee
    Cash-out limit
    Commonly 75% – 80% LTV
    Break-even
    Costs ÷ monthly saving
    Seasoning
    Often 6 – 12 months
    What this one needs from you

The next step

Not sure which of the six you are?

That is the normal position and it is a five-minute conversation, not a form. Tell me how you get paid and I will tell you which routes are open to you and what each one would cost.

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