Thanks very much for the quick response Zeb. That has made me feel 100 times better now, I wasn’t aware lenders are still prepared to lend 4 times a salary. We will only really need 3 and a half times just taking my hubby’s salary into account for the type of houses we are looking at.

Most lenders are very cautious about temporary/contract workers and generally say no to them. You say you work regularly on 3 month contracts but you dont mention if this is continuous employment or whether you often have breaks in between contracts and this could be the crucial element. If you can evidence that you have workd without break for a long term (2-3 years) on the same job under the same terms and conditions then a couple of lenders may assist you. If you have had breaks of contract or time away from employment then I doubt any lender will help you.

You would be best to base all property searches based on your hubby's income alone. if you allow roughly 4x annual income for how much you can borrow (plus anything you may gain or lose on your existing property) then you will get a rough idea of what properties you should be looking for. Some lenders may allow as much as 5x income if your credit is strong

Hi there,

We are looking to upsize and will be re-mortgaging. My husband has a very solid well paid, permanent job (earns 5 x my salary). I don't have a permanent job but work regularly on three month contracts at a time. My question is when we re-mortgage will they be able to take my salary into account being a contractor or will they just use my husband’s salary? I would have thought it would be very low risk seeing as the main earner has the solid job but as piddly as my salary is it does make a difference when looking at what houses we can afford!

Many thanks

C