I remember when I first started contracting. I felt like I was finally free from being sentenced to working for bosses that I had differences with, and all of the things that I hated about my job. I was a plumber, but decided to go a different route ad began contracting as an electrician, something I had gone to school for but had a difficult time finding a permanent job in.
Work was steady, and I had two steady contracts to keep me busy for the next year. When my wife mentioned buying our home, it seemed like the next step in life had finally come. I happily went to our bank to discuss the terms of our mortgage, sure that I would be accepted.
I was far from prepared for what I was about to walk in to. As I sat in front of the mortgage advisors desk, I felt disappointed with my life all of the sudden. He looked at me as though I was nothing simply because I was a contractor. The bank insisted that I needed to be a contractor for two more years, and then pointed out that I had only lived in the United Kingdom for 15 months, and I would need to provide proof of residency for at least a few years.
I tried to remain optimistic, and tried to speak of the future, when I could provide proof of three years’ worth of accounts and residency for a longer period of time. That optimism quickly faded when they told me that it would probably take me a few years to save up the deposit anyway; I would have to pay at least 30% for a down payment before being approved for a mortgage. I felt hopeless, and a bit irritated. It didn’t seem fair that I had to deal with all of this simply because I was a contractor.
I politely said my goodbyes, went home and began looking at other options to buy my family the home that they wanted. I went to more banks, and it was the same thing, with the same treatment. I read tips for first time buyers. As a last result, I simply searched contractor mortgages online. It was then that I stumbled across CIS Mortgage’s website. I gave them a call and scheduled a free consultation, but I refused to get my hopes up again after what had happened at the banks and other mortgage lenders.
I was pleasantly surprised from the moment that I walked into the door. They knew that I was a contractor that wanted a mortgage, but they still greeted me with a smile. With how friendly they were, it was hard not to smile back. It instantly put me at ease, but I reminded myself that it would probably be the same thing as the bank.
Boy, was I wrong. They said that as long as I had proof of the contracts that I currently had, that would be fine. They were more concerned with whether or not I would be able to make the payments than anything else. For the first time, a mortgage company spoke with me about my future instead of my past. CIS Mortgages helped me get the home that I thought was just a dream.