Agents paid on a 1099
The Realtor’s 1099 Mortgage Playbook
For agents paid on a 1099: how a lender can read your income from your 1099s instead of your tax return.
Get the guide
Guide · Self-employed
The Self Employed Homebuyer’s Checklist
Your tax return is built to do one job: lower your taxes. A lender reading it for a mortgage sees something else. This checklist shows what to do so your write-offs stop working against you.
Who it is for: Business owners, 1099 earners, freelancers, gig workers and anyone whose income does not fit in a neat W-2 box.
Prefer to talk? Call 732-686-9999
- Direct, licensed mortgage lender
- NMLS #103098
- Equal Housing Lender
- Direct, licensed lenderNMLS #103098. Check our licences on NMLS Consumer Access.
- Short and plainWritten for one situation, in plain words.
- Email or textYou choose how the guide reaches you.
- A real personQuestions? A licensed loan officer at 732-686-9999.
Why it matters
Why it can feel rigged, and is not
Lenders read the income left after your write-offs, not the money that runs through your business. The same deductions that lower your tax bill can lower the income an underwriter is allowed to count.
There are other ways to show what you really earn, such as programs that read the deposits in your bank statements. They are not loopholes, and they are not right for everyone: if a conventional loan reads your income just fine, it is usually the simpler path.
What the guide covers
- What a lender actually counts as your income
- The documents that move a self-employed file
- The path most lenders never mention
- Other options built for self-employed buyers
- Five moves to make before you apply, and the quiet mistakes that sink files
- Questions to ask any lender you talk to
The honest part. If a conventional loan reads your income just fine, that is usually the simpler path, and we will tell you so.
Get the guide
Where should we send it?
Fill in the short form and choose email or text. We confirm your mobile number with a text code, then send you The Self Employed Homebuyer’s Checklist.
- Your choice of delivery. By email or by text message, whichever suits you.
- Short and plain. Written for one situation, in plain words.
- Questions after you read it? Call a licensed loan officer at 732-686-9999.
Get the guide
Tell us who you are and where to send it. We confirm your mobile number with a text code first.
This form needs JavaScript. You can also call us at 732-686-9999 and we will send the guide.
Thank you, .
Please call us at 732-686-9999 and we will send you The Self Employed Homebuyer's Checklist.
Staging test site: the link may answer "Not found" here, because the staging server cannot read the guide files. On the live site it opens the PDF.
We use these details to send what you asked for and to follow up about it. See our Privacy Policy.
Keep reading
More guides and tips
First-time buyers
First-Time Homebuyer Hacks
What a lender actually reads, the quiet mistakes that sink first-time files, and five moves to make before you apply.
Get the guide
Buyers
Buy Now or Wait: The Honest Math
How lenders size a payment, why buying power moves, and the honest case for waiting.
Get the guideReady to get pre-approved?
Apply online, get a quote, or talk it through with a licensed loan officer.
This page is general information, not a commitment to lend. Programs, terms and eligibility depend on credit, income, property and underwriting review and are subject to change without notice.