Research indicates sole traders most wary of mortgage market

March 14, 2025 by Brendan O'Neill

Property Market

The latest research has discovered that sole traders are the segment of the self-employed market that is most wary of looking for a mortgage, with over one quarter having never attempted this.

This research was carried out by The Mortgage Lender (TML), a company that offers specialist loans. It reveals that 28% of surveyed sole traders have avoided the mortgage market entirely up to now. Out of all the different types of self-employed people in the UK, they are comfortably the most resistant to pursuing homeownership.

The TML research also uncovered some of the reasons for this reluctance. Among the factors that were cited by sole traders were worries that they would be turned down by lenders (26%), and concerns that the application process was too complicated (10%). A further 17% said that they had been influenced by hearsay telling them that self-employed people have more trouble acquiring a mortgage.

Another issue that was named as a reason was concerns about fluctuations in earnings. 24% told TML that this was why they had not attempted to get a mortgage. An additional 18% indicated that they thought being self-employed would stand against them.

Sara Palmer from TML told Mortgage Introducer that:

“Sole traders are responsible for their own businesses and contribute a significant amount to our economy, so should not be penalised when it comes to how their income is generated.”

The help of someone who has CeMAP mortgage advisor training and extensive knowledge of the specialist lending market could ease a lot of these worries.