Yes, you can get a personal loan if you’re self-employed, but you’ll have a more limited range of options to choose from. Several of the mainstream lenders with headline-grabbing rates are willing to lend to self-employed individuals, provided you meet their requirements for affordability and can show supporting documentation.
There are also a number of specialist lenders who have focused their efforts on more niche areas of the market, such as sole traders and the self-employed, and these are worth keeping in mind if you’re looking to take out a loan.
Pretty much all lenders now offer an eligibility checker facility. You’ll need to provide enough info for the company to run a “soft” credit search – which won’t affect your credit score, but allows the lender to tell you whether or not it’s worth applying. It’s when you actually apply, that you normally consent to a “hard” credit check which does impact your credit score (a little).
Using each lender’s eligibility checker takes time, but a good loan matching service can do most of the leg work for you. You’ll enter your details once, and it’ll run the checks with each lender in its panel in a matter of seconds, to find out which would approve you and what rate they’d offer.
Don’t just apply with the first lender you find, even if it’s with your existing bank. Always compare a range of personal loans to find the one that best suits your financial situation. There are also alternative types of credit, such as secured loans and credit cards, which could better meet your requirements.
Yes, it’s still possible to get a personal loan even if you’re self-employed and have poor credit history, but you could find that your options are quite limited. You’re also unlikely to be offered the most competitive rate, and may not be able to borrow as much as someone with good credit.
As with any loan, you can eligibility checker, and this will give you a good idea of whether you’re likely to be approved for a personal loan.
Not necessarily – especially if you meet a lender’s criteria for having the supporting evidence and documentation needed for a standard personal loan, and you have financial records dating back for at least three years. However, you may be offered a higher rate if your circumstances paint you like a more high-risk borrower – particularly if you haven’t been trading for long.
As competition has grown, you may find personal loans for self-employed applicants are no more expensive than a standard bank loan. Just be sure to compare all the options available to you, and the features of and conditions applying to your chosen product before you sign up with a particular lender. The APR that a lender offers you may differ from its advertised “Representative APR”, and will be based on factors such as your credit score, income and expenditure.
If you don’t have the employment history or documented income to get an unsecured personal loan, you may want to consider a secured loan. This is a type of personal loan that uses the equity you have in your house as security against the cost of the loan, and generally offers lower rates than regular personal loans.
If you’re self-employed and work from a home that you own, a secured loan may be a better option than trying to get approved for unsecured finance.
If you don’t meet the eligibility criteria for a secured or unsecured personal loan, or can’t find the right loan to meet your needs, you still have a lot of other options available.
Depending on your credit rating and the purpose of the loan, there may be a suitable credit card for your needs. With a 0% purchase credit card you could make purchases and pay no interest for a set period which could be as long as 30 months, although expect to pay hefty fees to withdraw cash.
Alternatively, a 0% money transfer credit card lets you transfer funds from the card to another account and again pay no interest for a set period. In these instances you need to set, and always stick to, a repayment schedule to make sure that you repay the money before the low rate period ends. If you don’t, you could find yourself paying a hefty amount of interest over a prolonged period.
You should also weigh up any regular or one-off fees associated with the cards. For those with bad or limited credit histories, with a credit builder credit card, you start with a low credit limit but this can be reviewed in as little as four months.
With a guarantor loan, a third party (typically family member or friend) commits to paying the loan off in the event that you default on repayments. Your guarantor will need to have good credit (and ideally be a homeowner) and, frustratingly, the interest rates on guarantor loans tend not to be the most competitive (often around 40-50%).
If the loan is to fund the purchase of business equipment or materials (but not stock), you could use asset finance or invoice finance, whereby a lender will loan you money against the value of goods used for your business which you own, such as buildings, vehicles, machinery or office equipment, or will advance a loan against the money which is owed to your business and which has been detailed on outstanding invoices. Asset financing and invoice financing, however, are both likely to be more expensive than a regular personal loan.
There’s also a small number of innovative new lenders such as Drafty, that offer alternative takes on shorter-term borrowing, for borrowers that struggle to get approved by more mainstream lenders. Drafty was primarily designed to help people avoid expensive unauthorised overdraft fees.
Your would-be lender will usually need to see some or all of the following:
If you’re self-employed and looking for a personal loan, you might feel daunted by eligibility requirements. But there’s a good chance you already have the evidence of income that you need, in the form of tax returns, accounts or bank statements. It’s also possible to get a quick decision, with some lenders able to process and approve your application in less than 48 hours. You’ll improve your chances of making a successful application if you know what your options are, how the application process works and what documents you’ll need as evidence to support your application.
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As a self employed person who let hi house for £625 pcm is it reasonable to ask to borrow approximately £13,000 over 7 years to replace wooden window and soffit/fascia in the rental property. LTV is approximately 50%. My income is circa £30000 pa including rental yield.
Hi Pat,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
Basing on the numbers you gave, there’s a chance for you to get a personal loan. What you can do is directly get in touch with any of the lenders on this page. Click on the “Go to site” green button to be redirected to their website. From there, you can then check your eligibility and know their requirements.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua