Service
Property financing for the self-employed.
Banks that read BWAs, income statements and annual accounts properly — instead of rejecting you out of hand or responding with risk surcharges.
Context
The self-employed are assessed differently — not worse.
Self-employed professionals, freelancers and GmbH managing directors often hear the same blanket reservations from their house banks: fluctuating income, hard-to-predict creditworthiness, higher risk surcharges. That is not an objective assessment — it is a convenience for banks that cannot, or will not, read business figures properly.
There are banks that do things differently. They understand the cash flow of a craft business, the rhythm of a freelance lecturer, the balance-sheet logic of an asset-holding GmbH. With these banks, terms for business owners are on a par with those for employees — sometimes even better, because creditworthiness and equity tend to be strong.
We know these banks. We prepare your documents the way the risk analysts want to see them — and we avoid blanket rejections that end up on your SCHUFA record (Germany's credit bureau) and make subsequent applications harder.
Who it is for
Who we typically finance.
Freelancers
Doctors, lawyers, architects, IT consultants, freelance lecturers. Strong creditworthiness on paper, but income that fluctuates over the years — many banks assess this far too cautiously as a matter of routine.
Sole traders & tradespeople
Craft businesses, retail, hospitality, service providers. What counts here is a clean EÜR (cash-basis income statement) across three years — and a bank that understands industry rhythms and seasonal fluctuations.
GmbH managing directors
Salary from your own limited company (GmbH), possibly dividends, often with personal guarantees. Banks calculate differently — some treat the owner-director like an employee, others like a business owner.
Holding structures & multi-family investors
Buy-to-let investment via an asset-holding GmbH, cash flow from an existing portfolio, refinancing across several banks. A complex case — not a mass-market product, not an online comparison.
How it works
From document review to approval.
- 1
Document review
BWA (interim financial statement), EÜR or annual accounts (3 years), tax assessments, private drawings, shareholding structure where relevant. We check in advance what picture the numbers paint — and which banks will read it correctly.
- 2
Bank selection
Not every bank is friendly to the self-employed. From more than 500 partners, we select the five to ten that assess business owners fairly and competently — instead of applying blanket risk surcharges.
- 3
Preparation & application
We prepare your documents the way banks want to see them: transparent cash flow, adjusted private drawings, credible forecasts. That is what makes the difference between approval and rejection.
- 4
Recommendation & support
A written comparison of terms and a clear recommendation. On request, we stay by your side through to disbursement and handle any follow-up questions from the bank.
Building blocks
Six tools for business-owner financing.
Classic annuity loan
The standard solution — for business owners too. Requirements: three complete financial years, a plausible income trajectory, clearly documented private drawings.
Writing your own credit summary
Some banks allow a short business report written by the owner — as a supplement to the BWA and EÜR. This often speeds up the decision and explains fluctuations.
Asset-holding GmbH as buyer
Often sensible for buy-to-let investments — for tax as well as financing reasons. We know the banks that can structure this without extra friction.
Structuring your equity
Private assets, business assets, securities portfolios — cleanly separated and transparently documented. We help you prepare this upfront so the bank builds trust from the start.
KfW subsidies for business owners
KfW residential construction subsidies (Germany's state development bank) are open to the self-employed too — sometimes via classic consumer-loan routes, sometimes directly. We check the best path.
Fee-based advice as an alternative
In complex cases, fee-based advice can be the cleaner option: a fixed fee, the full banking market, no commission incentives. We raise it transparently whenever it fits.
Pitfalls
Four mistakes that cost the self-employed their approval.
Going to your house bank — and collecting a rejection
Many self-employed people start with their house bank. It knows your payment history, but often not the rules for assessing business income. A blanket rejection recorded with SCHUFA (Germany's credit bureau) makes everything harder afterwards — we start elsewhere.
Treating private drawings like a salary
Private drawings are not comparable one-to-one with a net salary — banks calculate taxes, provision costs and creditworthiness differently. If you do not know this, you will be surprised by inflated risk surcharges.
Dressing up the accounts
Reducing private drawings shortly before applying to make the EÜR look prettier is something banks usually spot. Credible figures across three years carry more weight than one nice final quarter.
Declaring a GmbH managing director as an employee
If you own the GmbH you manage, you are not an “employee” in the bank’s eyes — not even with your own employment contract. Banks recognise this, and the owner is assessed as a business owner regardless. Obscuring it puts the approval at risk.
Related services
Topics that often belong together.
Frequently asked
What business owners want to know upfront.
- How many financial years do I need for property financing?
- Most banks require three complete, positive financial years. Some banks also accept two years — if the industry is stable and a healthy order book can be evidenced. Below two years it gets difficult, but not impossible; that usually calls for additional collateral or a higher equity share.
- Which income do banks base their calculation on?
- Banks typically take an average of the last two to three years and deduct taxes and social security costs. Fluctuations are usually weighted negatively — if you explain them cleanly in advance (e.g. a one-off investment phase), you can put them in perspective.
- Do I need more equity than employees do?
- Generally, yes. While employees with strong credit occasionally obtain full financing, for the self-employed 20 to 30 percent equity plus purchase costs is the standard. With specialist banks this can be undercut — we assess it case by case.
- Can the self-employed get financing during the start-up phase?
- Usually not through classic mortgage financing — as long as fewer than two financial years are on record. There are exceptions involving guarantees, parents as co-borrowers or a second household income. In the first consultation we sort out what is realistic.
- What does advice for the self-employed cost?
- The first consultation is free of charge and without obligation. If your financing completes, we are remunerated by the lending bank. For particularly complex holding or GmbH structures, we may discuss fee-based advice — transparently and before any engagement.
Your first consultation — free and without obligation.
30 to 60 minutes in which we listen to your situation, answer first questions and tell you transparently whether and how we can help. No sales pitch. No pressure.
- I.We get back to you within one working day by phone or e-mail.
- II.We arrange an appointment — in person, by phone or via video call.
- III.We assess your situation and tell you openly how we can support you.
Start your enquiry
A few quick steps to your personal assessment. Response within 24 hours, strictly confidential.
- Key facts about your plans and equity
- Occupation and net household income
- Preferred advisor, or leave it open
- Your contact details
Takes about 2 minutes. No credit check at this stage.