How to get a mortgage without a traditional salary or employment history
Lenders typically require two years of consistent W-2 or PAYE employment history, leaving dividend-dependent borrowers unable to qualify for standard home loans. This lack of conventional documentation blocks cross-border property purchases and forces investors to seek alternative financing options.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- Most of it landed at once — the busiest month was September 2026, with 8 people.
- This comes up 14.3× more often in r/homeowners than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1using broker margin accounts to reinvestDid this help you?
- 2executing options box spreadsDid this help you?
- 3applying for unsecured personal loansDid this help you?
- 4borrowing from friends with private interest agreementsDid this help you?
- 5Waiting another year to show more consistent incomeDid this help you?
- 6Exploring asset-depletion loans or bank statement loansDid this help you?
- 7Amending tax returns to show higher income and pay more taxesDid this help you?
- 8Putting a spouse's name on loansDid this help you?
- 9Paying cash for major purchasesDid this help you?
- 10Using retailer financing promotions or store cardsDid this help you?
- 11waiting until obtaining a permanent position before applyingDid this help you?
- 12having parents co-sign or gift money for the purchaseDid this help you?
- 13asking around on online forums and meeting with the bank or a brokerDid this help you?
- 14Applying for the loan jointly with the working spouseDid this help you?
- 15Having the working partner apply alone if eligibleDid this help you?
- 16Consulting a mortgage broker or lender before making tax-deductible contributionsDid this help you?
- 17Combining income with a W2 partner on the loan applicationDid this help you?
- 18Delaying SEP IRA contributions until after mortgage approval and keeping funds in a HYSADid this help you?
- 19Relying on mortgage underwriters to add back discretionary SEP IRA contributions during income evaluationDid this help you?
- 20Getting a credit card and paying it off in full.Did this help you?
- 21Using Credit Karma to find credit cards with high approval odds for a 650 credit score.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“You would need to apply jointly, or he could do it without you.”source ↗
“If he’s not on the deed or if she is then he can’t apply alone either.”source ↗
“Could I take out a heloc using his income?”source ↗
“Your biggest hurdle may be getting two years of consistent documented income accepted, not the down payment.”source ↗
“So I know this is different depending on where I live but I really need someone to explain this process to me and like “dumb-it-down”. I’m 26 and I’m trying to buy my first home but I’m doing this all on my own.”source ↗
“My checks range from $1,200 to $1,800. I’m currently fighting to get a permanent position but once I get one, I’m golden”source ↗
“I currently have 10,000 saved up for a down payment (I’ve had to pay for some stuff that ate away at a lot of money for a good while but it’s all sorted now)”source ↗
“my credit score is 695”source ↗
“Because I am an independent contractor, I am a high risk borrower so getting a mortgage loan is very hard for someone like me”source ↗
“I learned with a SEP IRA, the tax deductions would lower my self employment income on my taxes (I hope I understood that correctly) so my thinking is that I'll be even less likely to get approved for a good mortgage loan if my income looks lower.”source ↗
“I don't think i'll be approved for a loan, just was seeing if anyone knew of lenders that may do so.”source ↗
“traditional mortgage is tricky as I'm EU tax resident but the property is outside EU.”source ↗
“I pay myself mostly in dividends when needed, i.e. no salary or 'regular employment history' banks would like (at home or abroad).”source ↗
“So I don't seem to qualify for a typical home loan, and I'm wondering what other options I should be considering.”source ↗
“I’ve always had a really hard time building or getting approved for financing anything and have paid cash for most everything I’ve ever bought.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 8How to invest and make my own money without a job
- 8How to get business funding with no history
- 7How to pay credit card debt with no job and leaving the country
- 4Why do apartments reject self-employed income verification?
- 2How to get a business loan with low credit for equipment
- 3Do I need to buy a car on finance just to build credit?