Mortgages for Solicitors: The Essential Guide

It’s no secret – when looking to secure a mortgage as a solicitor, you will open doors to some of the best mortgage deals on the market today.

Working within the high-earning law sector, lenders will likely favour the occupational stability of solicitors, and can potentially award a host of benefits. From increased income multipliers and better mortgage rates, to reduced deposits, the potential for high earnings and job security should place you in the desirable limelight of mortgage lenders.

With that being said, solicitors, barristers, and anyone working within the legal sector will have a few considerations to keep in mind, and may need to access a specialist mortgage to ensure the best deal.

In this article, we explore everything you need to know about solicitor mortgages, from how lenders will view your application to how much you can expect to borrow. Let’s dive in.

What Are the Main Mortgage Concerns for Solicitors?

Although a solicitor’s mortgage will follow the same mortgage lending criteria as any other profession, the unique structure of income for those who work within the legal sector can present potential barriers for some lenders.

If you are self-employed or part of a partnership as a solicitor, you may be subject to consistent fluctuations in income. This will make the overall affordability more difficult to calculate for lenders, directly affecting your mortgage application and overall appeal as a borrower.

For many lenders – especially high-street lenders – any form of irregular income that provides an element of unpredictability to your mortgage application will have a massive negative effect on the overall application, despite your confidence in being able to repay the loan amount.

In fact, many solicitors, lawyers, and barristers will often face an automatic rejection by certain mortgage calculators, simply because the true nature of their overall income is more complex and complicated to work out.

Whether you’re a newly qualified solicitor, working self-employed for a practice, or indeed are a leading partner in a law firm, ensuring that your complete earning potential is considered and used in your mortgage affordability calculations is crucial.

While specialist lenders can often offer the best mortgage deals for those with complex income structures, working with a trusted mortgage broker – like Boon Brokers – is the best way to open the doors to all available mortgage products that are on the market today. With whole-of-market access, we can help you find and compare between a host of lenders, ensuring we find you the best mortgage that is tailored to your needs.

How Do Lenders Treat a Solicitor’s Income?

Full qualified solicitors may be able to borrow 6x their income, much higher than the standard 4.5x  usually offered by lenders. However, this will depend specifically on the lender’s affordability criteria.

When asking how a lender will view your income or mortgage application, the lender’s first concern will always be: “will this applicant/borrower be able to repay their total mortgage loan amount?”

As a general rule of thumb, those who are employed with a permanent position will have a much easier time securing a mortgage than those who are self-employed or on a temporary employment basis. This is because an employed position provides a consistent and reliable income with prospects of job security.

On the other hand, those who are self-employed will often face unique challenges of the changing market, with fluctuating incomes and varying gross figures each year. Put plainly, the unpredictability nature of self-employed work translates to an increased risk for lenders.

As such, it’s important to keep in-mind that self-employed solicitors, whether as a sole practitioner or a partner in a firm, may be required to show at least two to three years of financial records. This is so that lenders can gain an average of your financial history, building a more accurate insight into your overall affordability.

For newly qualified solicitors, it is important to note that you may not have access to the same mortgage offers as fully qualified or senior solicitors. This is largely because you will not initially have a high earning income, and despite your high-earning potential, lenders will primarily calculate your affordability on your current financial standing as opposed to a bright future of income.

In essence, providing a complete history of financial records and proof of income stability is the key to strengthening a mortgage application.

What Are the Advantages of Securing a Mortgage for Solicitors?

While there is no such thing as a ‘solicitor mortgages’, many lenders will be willing to offer solicitor mortgages with some of the best rates and products on the market.

Amongst the high-earning professionals, solicitors can often access a multitude of benefits when looking to secure a mortgage. The high earning potential and professional stability associated with working as a solicitor makes them favorable for lenders. As such, you will often find that lenders will offer you some of the most competitive mortgage rates with some distinct advantages, including:

Higher-income multipliers: Lenders may allow you to borrow more than typical applicants, offering higher income multiples.

Lower deposits: You may benefit from higher loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, allowing you to make a smaller deposit compared to other professions.

Better rates: Your high earning potential and stable career could qualify you for exclusive mortgage rates, offering significant savings over time.

Reduced fees: Lenders may offer lower product fees for legal professionals, helping to reduce your overall mortgage costs.

Are There Any Mortgages Available for Trainees and Newly Qualified Solicitors?

If you’re a newly qualified or trainee solicitor, you may be wondering what type of mortgage you can secure early on in your professional career.

The good news is that many lenders will still be open to you!

It is important to note, however, that your overall offers will inevitably be affected by the early stages of your career. For example, a newly qualified solicitor salary will be significantly less than an established solicitor’s salary. Equally, you may not have had the financial stability to save for a large deposit, which will directly affect your loan-to-value rates. All of these factors will affect your overall affordability.

With that being said, newly qualified or trainee solicitors will likely still be able to secure a great mortgage deal.

Choosing a specialist lender is the best option for those who are newly qualified. This is because some specialist lenders will take into consideration your potential professional growth, allowing you to benefit from some of the advantages that an established solicitor may benefit from.

How Much Can A Solicitor Borrow?

Working out exactly what mortgage you can afford can be tricky. In fact, the exact amount you can expect to borrow will directly depend on their overall financial standing.

Lenders will complete their own affordability assessments in accordance with their unique mortgage lending criteria. Typically, this will be an assessment of the following:

• Credit history
• Monthly expenses
• Gross income
• Income frequency
• Overall deposit

Following an affordability assessment, most lenders will offer an income multiplier of between 4x and 5.5x. However, as we’ve mentioned before, experienced/accomplished solicitors might be able to access income multipliers of up to 6x their annual salary.

Taking into consideration the different stages of a solicitor career trajectory, we have created an example of the common salary ranges and multipliers below:

– Newly Qualified Solicitors: Salaries range from £28,000 to £69,000. This means that your potential borrowing amount could be between £112,000 and £379,500.

– Experienced Solicitors (5+ years): With salaries ranging from £35,000 to £85,000. This means that your potential borrowing amount could be between £140,000 and £467,500.

– Partners: Earning between £60,000 and £140,000, This means that your potential borrowing amount could be between £240,000 to £770,000.

Please note that these figures are used to provide you with an insight into how much borrowing power you can expect. The exact amounts will always be predicated on your chosen lender and your specific affordability assessment.

How Can Solicitors Increase Their Borrowing Power?

Maximising your borrowing power can be the difference between a great house and your dream house.

If you’re looking for the best ways to optimise your borrowing power, then there are 3 key factors that can boost your financial profile and make you more appealing to lenders, including:

Maintain a Strong Credit Score

Your credit score can greatly affect how much you can borrow, and is crucial in your mortgage application. Lenders will rely on your credit history to assess your ability to repay your loan. By making sure that your credit score is high – through paying bills on-time and reducing any outstanding balances –  you will greatly improve your overall financial standing and appeal to lenders.

Minimise Existing Debts

Your debt-to-income ratio will be assessed by lenders to calculate your current financial standing. Simply, the less debt you carry, the better your financial standing will appear. Taking the time to reduce any credit card balances, personal loans, and other debts, is a great way to optimise your financial profile.

Increase Your Deposit

One of the most influential factors to your borrowing power and loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, is your overall deposit amount. A larger deposit will demonstrate a stronger financial stability and profile. By saving for a bigger deposit,  you will lower your LTV which can lead to better mortgage rates and shorter mortgage terms, as well as higher borrowing limits.

Focusing on these three factors can help significantly bolster your financial standing and attractiveness to lenders, ultimately boosting your overall borrowing power.

Find a Better Mortgage With Boon Brokers

Finding a mortgage deal that is tailored to your financial circumstances can feel impossible, especially if you’re trying to secure a mortgage on your own.

Thankfully, securing a solicitor’s mortgage doesn’t need to cause you any stress at all.

Whether you’re a first-time buyer, moving home, or looking to remortgage, Boon Brokers have worked with solicitors from all around the UK, helping secure their ideal mortgages.

As a completely free and trusted whole-of-market broker, we have access to over 90 lenders, including both leading high-street and specialist lenders. We understand the complexities of the legal sector and can help navigate you through the world of mortgages with ease, finding you a lender that understands your specific financial standing.

From start to finish, we will handle the entire application process for you. Contact Boon Brokers today – our expert mortgage advice team is waiting to hear from you.