Mortgages for Actors

That doesn’t sound right does it! Someone who is in the public eye, probably earning well shouldn’t have trouble proving that they can afford the loan?! 

 

Can you imagine Brad Pitt getting declined? It happens. It happens quite a lot! 

 

Actors are usually paid via an agency and therefore, are on short term contracts with no renewal guarantee. 

 

For example, if an actor (let’s call him Brad), gets an amazing part in a soap with a great weekly pay, and wants to use this opportunity to buy his first house. 

 

Brad goes to a mortgage lender and they will look at his incoming, his outgoing and decide if he is a safe bet. 

Brad gets declined. 

 

Again and again, Brad goes to different high street lenders who just keep saying NO! 

 

He can’t understand this as his contract says he gets £4,000 a week in pay! 

 

Brad visits me and we sit down, have a chat and work out what the problem is. 

 

Apart from a personal loan, Brad’s credit is great and his lifestyle is quite normal. 

 

The issue that is stopping him is his contract of employment. It’s a 6 month contract with no guarantee of renewal. Standard in TV acting contracts. 

 

Brad is sure that his character will have a long-term place on the soap but the nature of the business is that, one day, he may get a script and realise that his character is being written out, that could mean that when that happens, his income stops... 

 

We need to find a specialist lender, one who will look into Brad and underwrite him for a 6 month period. 

 

Extra evidence needs to be gathered, things on top of the ‘standard’ document. 

• A letter from his agent with a timeline showing his previous history of work (this shows he is proactive with his earning and usually stays contracted, almost back to back) 

• A letter from his current producer or contract manager from the TV soap, that confirms his role is currently not being written out of the show (this obviously is confidential and must be viewed by specific people only) 

• As Brad is renting his current flat, we can show a long term history of making sure that rent was paid on time and without issue for the last year. 

• Tax returns to show that he declares his tax with an accountant every year (this gives confidence to the lender that he is not using his contract business to money launder). 

 

Once all of these documents and extra evidence is reviewed, we can show a story of Brad’s working career. 

An underwriter will need to see more than just the standard 3 months payslips! They will need to understand how Brad’s career will progress. 

 

In the end, the right lender was sourced, the criteria was checked and after long, in depth talks with underwriters about Brad and his personal unique circumstances, an offer of mortgage was given. 

 

Brad was over the moon! His dream house was purchased and he has now moved in! 

 

Another thing myself and Brad identified was that if he was sick/injured or unable to work (for example, he broke his leg), he would not be paid. This means that he needs some sort of help for this. The mortgage lender will need paying every month without fail. 

 

A sickness plan was set up, one that makes sure if anything happens to keep him off work for more than a week, his mortgage and bills still get paid as well as some money to live from. 

 

Obviously as part of the review, we had already set up some mortgage protection and part of that was to include ‘Fracture Cover’. This means that should he break his leg, the insurance company will put £6,000 into his bank to help at this difficult time. 

 

This just goes to show that without a broker who knew how to pick this type of employment apart and find the key details needed, Brad may never have been able to get his dream home! Now not only is he in there, he can stay in it if he is injured/sick too! Winning. 

 

Can this help you? Do you feel stuck without a constant employment to prove your income? 

 

Maybe you have just gained a new contract and you would like to see if you can finance your dream home? 

 

Get in touch, start the ball rolling and find out what your chances are when you talk to a proper adviser. Austyn Johnson 07500 871 209 austyn@hdconsultants.net