Your tax return was written to pay less tax. Your mortgage shouldn't punish you for it.
Contractors, realtors, restaurant owners, boat captains, consultants, anyone with an LLC and a good accountant — Cape Coral and Fort Myers run on self-employed income, and most lenders are bad at reading it. We do the tax-return math properly first, and when the returns don't tell the story, we have bank-statement, 1099, P&L, and DSCR programs that do.
Lenders qualify you on net income, averaged, with add-backs. The rest is knowing the exceptions.
For a conventional, FHA, or VA loan, a self-employed borrower's income comes off the tax returns: usually a two-year average of the net figure from your Schedule C, partnership or S-corp K-1s, or corporate return, plus add-backs for paper expenses like depreciation and depletion. A declining year gets used at the lower number and needs an explanation. The gross revenue that makes your business feel healthy doesn't count; the number after your accountant is done does.
That's why a business owner with strong cash flow can get declined by a bank that only reads the bottom line. The fix isn't always a different loan — it's frequently a correct calculation. Add-backs missed, a one-time expense not excluded, income from a second entity ignored. We build the income worksheet ourselves before any lender sees the file.
When the returns genuinely don't support the loan, non-QM programs qualify you a different way: twelve or twenty-four months of bank deposits, a CPA-prepared profit and loss, 1099s alone, or — for investment property — the rental income of the property itself. They cost more and want more down, and for the right borrower they're the difference between buying and not.
Program options at a glance
- Tax-return (conventional / FHA / VA / jumbo)
- Two years of personal and business returns, year-to-date P&L, business bank statements. Best pricing; income is what the returns show, with add-backs.
- Bank-statement
- 12 or 24 months of business or personal deposits, less an expense ratio, in place of returns. Larger down payment; higher pricing.
- 1099-only
- For contractors and commission earners paid on 1099s — qualifies on the 1099 totals rather than the Schedule C net.
- P&L-only
- A CPA- or tax-preparer-produced profit and loss statement as the income document. Availability varies by lender.
- DSCR (investment property)
- Qualifies on the property's rent covering its payment. No personal income documentation. Investment property only.
- Asset depletion
- Liquid assets converted to a monthly income figure. Common for retirees and business owners selling up north to buy here.
Program availability, pricing, and terms vary by lender and change without notice. Not a commitment to lend or tax advice.
Who walks through our door in Cape Coral and Fort Myers — and what trips them up.
Lee County's economy is construction, real estate, marine, hospitality, and a growing number of people who moved here and brought their business with them. Each has a predictable snag.
Contractors, roofers, and the post-Ian boom year.
A lot of trades businesses had an enormous 2023 and a normal 2024 or 2025. On a two-year average that looks like declining income, and some lenders will use only the lower year or ask hard questions. We document the storm-driven spike as a one-time event and pick lenders that read it that way.
Equipment depreciation is your friend here — it's the biggest add-back most trades borrowers leave on the table.
Realtors, captains, and commission or seasonal income.
Real estate agents on 1099s, charter captains, fishing guides, and anyone whose income arrives in season and disappears in August: lenders want to see the pattern hold across two years. Uneven months aren't a problem. A short history, or a year that's still on extension, is.
1099-only programs exist for exactly this profile when the Schedule C net doesn't do you justice.
Business owners relocating from up north.
You sold in New Jersey or Ohio, the business runs remotely, and you're buying in Cape Coral. The income is real, but it may sit inside a company, the entity may be new to Florida, and a chunk of your down payment is still equity in a house that hasn't closed. Timing, reserves, and which entity's returns to use all need mapping early.
Asset-depletion and bank-statement programs are often the clean path here, especially on a jumbo.
Income first. Program second. Lender third.
Most self-employed declines happen because the file went to a lender before anyone calculated the income. We reverse that: we build the income worksheet, decide whether a tax-return loan gets you there or a non-QM program fits better, and only then pick the lenders who will read your file the way we do.
If you're a few months from filing, talk to us before your accountant finalizes the return. Sometimes a modest change in how an expense is treated is worth a great deal of borrowing power, and it's legal, ordinary, and too late once the return is filed.
- Returns and a fifteen-minute conversation.Two years of personal and business returns, a year-to-date P&L, and the story of the business. We calculate the income the way an underwriter will — with the add-backs an underwriter might miss.
- Program decision.Tax-return loan if the numbers work; bank-statement, 1099, P&L, asset-depletion, or DSCR if they don't. We show you the pricing difference honestly.
- Documents, assembled once.Business bank statements, entity documents, CPA letter where needed, IRS transcript authorization. Self-employed files get asked for more; we ask for it all up front.
- Lender shop and lock.Your file goes only to lenders whose self-employed guidelines fit it. You compare real terms; we lock in writing.
- Underwriting and closing.Three to five weeks depending on program. Underwriter questions on self-employed files are normal; we answer them the same day.
What Cape Coral and Fort Myers business owners ask us.
If yours isn't here, text (239) 790-PURE and we'll add it.
How many years of self-employment do I need to get a mortgage?
How do lenders calculate self-employed income?
What is a bank statement loan?
Can I get a mortgage if I'm on an extension and haven't filed this year's return?
What is a DSCR loan?
Do I need to be self-employed for two years at the same business?
Send the returns. We'll tell you what they qualify for — and what else would.
Fifteen minutes, no credit pull. If a bank already said no, bring what they said.