£2.1m for Barrister client looking for 5.5x income facility
The situation?
My client, a self-employed Barrister, approached me looking to purchase a principle property for their new family home. Evidencing strong net profits over the latest year, the client was looking to purchase in central London at £2.1 million.
Newly qualified in their profession, my client required a lender that would take a bespoke view by working off his latest years net profit in isolation at 5.5x income due to their latest years being significantly higher than the previous years, which is typical of a Barrister early on in their career.
Commonly, most lenders will look to take an average of the last two years, particularly when a client has experienced this level of net profit increase year on year. Without the lender taking this view, the clients latest two years averaged net profit income would leave the client approximately £245k short in this scenario.
I had been dealing with the client for a number of months prior to purchase. This ensured I had bespoke lender pre-approval early on in the process which supported my client during their property search and provided a foundation on which to make offers confidently.
Due to my extensive experience working with Barristers, I am adept at understanding their unique income profile and have built strong relationships with lenders who are able to offer a bespoke underwriting approach. It is quite common for clients in this field to see strong income increases early on in their career and it was important we worked with a lender that understood Barristers income structure and were therefore able to offer favourable terms.
Knowing what lenders would look for, I requested additional documentation outside of the standard requirements to help support the case. I was then better equipped to present a detailed client profile to the underwriter, which ultimately resulted in the client being able to access the level of borrowing required.
The solution?
Working closely with the lender, I was successfully able to secure 5.5x income on the clients latest years net profit, in isolation. I achieved a competitive 2 year-fixed product on a capital repayment basis.
The client was grateful for my help, as they had previously been let down by another broker before being referred to me by their colleague at the same chambers.