Self-Employed and Buying a Home in Austin? Your Tax Returns Aren’t the Whole Story.
You run a business. You take the deductions you’re legally entitled to take — that’s just smart. Then you apply for a mortgage and the bank looks at your tax returns and says your income is “too low.” You know that’s not true. Your accountant knows it’s not true. But the bank’s box doesn’t have a place for how self-employment actually works.
I’m Russell Stout, and I’ve been helping Texas homebuyers since 2002. I’m also self-employed myself, so I know exactly what self-employed tax returns look like — I live with mine every year. Our system is set up to reward people for building a business by letting them write things off… that is, until they apply for a mortgage. I love solving this problem for people — because it isn’t really a problem with you. It’s a problem with which lender is reading your file.
Why Banks Struggle With Self-Employed Borrowers
A traditional lender qualifies you on the net income from your tax returns — after every write-off. If you deducted vehicle costs, home office, equipment, and depreciation, your paper income can look like half of what you actually earn. Add irregular month-to-month deposits, and a conventional underwriter starts seeing risk where there’s really just a normal business.
Most loan officers take your application anyway, promise it’ll be fine, and then underwriting kills the file three weeks in. That’s not a paperwork problem. That’s a “wrong lender for the situation” problem.
How I Do It Differently
I work with more than 40 wholesale lenders, and I know which ones actually understand self-employed income. My process is built to catch the issues before they cost you anything:
- Upfront review. I look at your real income picture — bank deposits, business history, how your accountant structures things — on day one, and I tell you honestly what will and won’t work.
- Underwriter pre-clearance. If anything in your file could raise a question, I take it to underwriting before we apply and get written guidance. No surprises at week four.
- Lender matching. I put you with the lender whose program actually fits how you earn — which is also how you end up with a better rate than forcing your file through the wrong program.
Programs for Self-Employed Borrowers
- Bank statement loans — qualify on 12–24 months of business or personal bank deposits instead of tax returns. Built for exactly the write-off situation described above.
- 1099 income programs — for contractors and gig-economy earners, qualify on 1099s instead of full returns.
- DSCR / investor loans — buying a rental? Qualify on the property’s income, not your personal income.
- Conventional, FHA, VA, and Jumbo — plenty of self-employed borrowers still fit traditional programs. If that’s you, that’s where I’ll put you. The point is matching the program to your situation, not selling you a specialty product you don’t need.
What Working With Me Looks Like
You work directly with me from application to closing — no handoffs, no call center. Pre-approval typically takes 24–48 hours. I charge $0 lender fees. And because I solve problems in week one instead of discovering them at week four, my clients close on time.
Let’s Talk About Your Situation
Every self-employed file is a little different, and a five-minute conversation will tell us both a lot. Tell me how your income works, and I’ll tell you straight which program fits — and what your path to closing looks like.
Start your pre-approval now — or call/text me at 512-423-4663, or email rstout@texasmortgageconsultants.com.
Russell Stout, NMLS# 220896 — Texas Mortgage Consultants, PLLC, Company NMLS# 1843758 — 8805 Lemens Spice Trail, Austin, TX 78750
