"To reflect that many contractors are high earners, we have changed our standpoint on assessing their income to make it more straightforward for those whose income exceeds £75,000 a year."
For contractors who earn more than £75,000 a year, it will now calculate their income as their average weekly contract income multiplied by 46, provided that they have received or will receive sufficient income from one or more contracts over a 12 month period that incorporates the date of application, have received at least 6 months’ historic income from one or more contracts immediately preceding the date of application and have had no more than a 6 week break between contracts in the 12-month period. It will also request copies of their latest three months’ consecutive personal bank statements for their main account.
NatWest has also announced that, in addition to already accepting income from court ordered maintenance and child maintenance, it will now accept income from family-based or non-court ordered maintenance and child maintenance provided that the payments have been in place for at least six months and are expected to continue at the current level for the foreseeable future, taking into account the age of children.
Mark Bullard, Head of Sales, NatWest Intermediary Solutions, said: “Employment patterns have changed significantly over the past few years with many more people opting for contract work instead of permanent employment. To reflect that many contractors are high earners, we have changed our standpoint on assessing their income to make it more straightforward for those whose income exceeds £75,000 a year. We believe that this will enable brokers to help more contractors with their mortgage needs.”
