Bank Statement Loans for NH Real Estate Agents
You close other people's loans all year and then get declined on your own, because two years of Schedule C net profit does not look like the commissions actually hitting your account. There is a program built for exactly that.
At a Glance
- Who it's for: licensed agents, associate brokers, team leads, brokerage owners, property managers and dual-licensed NH and MA agents.
- How you qualify: 12 or 24 months of bank statements, or on many files, one to two years of 1099s from your brokerage. No tax returns on either route.
- Typical guidelines: 620+ FICO, 10% to 20% down, 3 to 12 months of reserves, DTI generally capped near 50%, loan amounts up to $3M+.
- The two problems these solve: write-offs that flatten net profit, and a down year that makes conventional underwriting treat your income as declining.
- Timeline: pre-approval in 24 to 72 hours of complete docs, most files close in 21 to 35 days.
You know the guidelines. They still don't work for you.
You have walked dozens of buyers through pre-approval. You know what a 1008 looks like. And then you sit on the other side of the desk, hand over two years of returns, and watch an underwriter arrive at a monthly income number that would not qualify you for the condo you listed last week.
It happens for two reasons, and most agents are hit by both at once.
First, the write-offs. Mileage across three counties, photography and video, staging, signage, direct mail, CRM and lead spend, brokerage cap and desk fees, transaction coordinator, MLS and board dues, E and O insurance, CE credits, closing gifts. All legitimate, all deducted, all working directly against the only number a conventional underwriter cares about.
Second, the shape of your income. Conventional self-employed underwriting compares this year to last year. When commission volume steps down even modestly, an underwriter is required to treat the income as declining, which usually means using the lower figure or declining the file entirely. Your business can be perfectly healthy and still trip that rule.
Bank statement and 1099 programs read what came in instead. For an agent whose commissions arrive by wire or check from a title company or closing attorney, that is about as traceable as deposit income gets.
What the return says vs. what the account says
An illustration of one agent on a full commission plan, viewed two different ways.
Qualified on Schedule C net profit
Qualified on 12 months of deposits
Illustration only, not a quote, a rate, or an approval. Expense factors, eligible deposit rules and maximum loan amounts vary by lender and by file.
Where the CPA letter helps agents
A real estate agent's true expense ratio usually lands somewhere between 30% and 40%, below the 50% factor most programs apply by default. That makes an expense letter from your CPA, EA or tax preparer one of the highest leverage documents in your file, on any lender that accepts one. Team leads paying splits to buyer agents are the exception, since payroll pushes the real ratio up. Have it calculated before it gets sent.
Your brokerage already issues the document that qualifies you
Most self-employed borrowers have nothing this clean. Agents do, and it is regularly overlooked.
The 1099-only program
One or two years of 1099-NEC forms from your brokerage, with an expense factor applied to the gross. No deposit averaging, no statement gathering, no sourcing conversations about what a $14,000 wire was.
When 1099 beats statements
When commissions run through more than one account, when a spouse's income is mixed in, or when you moved brokerages and your deposit history looks fragmented. The 1099 total tells one clean story.
When statements beat 1099
When you earn referral fees, rental income or property management fees that never appear on a brokerage 1099, or when your most recent 12 months are much stronger than the last full tax year.
The right answer is whichever number is higher. Send both and we will calculate them side by side before anything goes to underwriting.
Get a Free Review →How commission income reads on a statement
Lumpy is fine. Unexplained is not. Here is what underwriting does with each piece.
Big, irregular deposits
A $16,000 wire followed by six quiet weeks is normal for this business and does not hurt you. Averaging over 12 or 24 months is exactly how the program is designed to handle it.
Where the money comes from
Commissions arriving from a title company, closing attorney or your brokerage are easy to trace, which is one reason agent files tend to move quickly through underwriting.
Referral and co-broke income
Referral fees, co-broke checks and relocation bonuses count as deposits, though they may not show on your brokerage 1099. This is often the deciding factor between the two routes.
Property management and rentals
Management fees and rent collected are deposit income too. If you own rentals yourself, ask about a DSCR program, which qualifies on the property's rent rather than your personal income.
If you are an S-corp
Agents who elected S-corp status often pay themselves a modest W-2 salary and take the rest as distributions. That small salary can sink a conventional file. Business account deposits or the 1099 route usually tell the accurate story.
What gets stripped out
Transfers between your own accounts, escrow or earnest money passing through, credit line draws and one-time windfalls are generally excluded. Recurring commission deposits build your average.
Agents on this corridor have a specific version of this problem
Southern New Hampshire agents run two markets at once, and their income documentation shows it.
Dual licensed in NH and MA
Plenty of agents here hold both licenses and hang them at different brokerages, which means two 1099s, sometimes two deposit accounts, and a conventional file that looks more complicated than the business actually is.
Commission volume against corridor prices
Purchase prices in Nashua, Merrimack, Hudson and Bedford routinely outrun what a Schedule C based approval supports, even for agents whose gross commissions comfortably cover the payment.
You need to move fast on your own deal
You already know what a strong offer looks like here. A pre-approval issued in 24 to 72 hours of complete docs means you are not the one asking a seller for extra time.
Local office at 20 Trafalgar Square, Suite 304, Nashua NH. Licensed in NH, MA, ME, FL and RI.
More on our local team: Nashua mortgage broker.
The agent's document list
You know this drill from the other side. Here is your version of it.
- 12 or 24 months of statements, every page, from whichever account your commission checks and wires land in.
- Your 1099-NEC forms from the brokerage for the last one to two years, since they may qualify you on their own.
- Active license and brokerage affiliation, plus a CPA letter or license history confirming two years in the business.
- Expense ratio letter from your CPA, EA or tax preparer, which is usually worth real money on an agent file.
- Asset statements for down payment and reserves, since most programs want 3 to 12 months of payments left after closing.
- Short explanations for any deposit that is not a commission, especially anything that passed through your account on behalf of someone else.
Four ways an agent can be underwritten
Same borrower, four documentation methods. The right one is whichever produces an approval you can actually use.
| MOST AGENTS Bank Statement or 1099 |
Conventional (Schedule C) | P&L Only | DSCR (rentals) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income documents | 12 to 24 months of statements, or 1 to 2 years of 1099s | 2 years of returns plus YTD P&L | CPA prepared P&L, often plus statements | Lease or market rent, no personal income |
| Do write-offs reduce income? | No, deposits or gross 1099 drive it | Yes, directly | Yes, per the P&L | Not applicable |
| Handles a down year? | Yes, choose the 12 month window | No, declining income is a common decline | Partly | Yes, property based |
| Typical minimum credit | ~620 | ~620 | ~660 | ~660 |
| Typical down payment | 10% to 20% | 3% to 5% | 15% to 25% | 20% to 25% |
| Mortgage insurance | None on most programs | Required under 20% down | None on most programs | None |
| Rate vs. conforming | Higher | Lowest available | Higher | Higher |
Guidelines shown are typical ranges across non-QM investors and change by lender, program and file. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
You quote rates all day. Here is the honest one.
Non-QM prices above conforming. You already know why: these loans do not sell to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so the investor holding them prices for that. No one should pretend otherwise to you of all people.
The comparison that matters is not this rate against a conforming rate you cannot currently get. It is this rate against waiting two more years while you deliberately deduct less, pay materially more in tax, and hope the next two returns show a clean upward trend. Run that with real numbers and the spread usually looks small.
And you know better than most that the loan is a snapshot, not a sentence. Agents refinance into conventional financing regularly once the returns catch up or the business restructures how it pays them. Most non-QM programs we place carry no prepayment penalty on owner-occupied homes, but confirm on your specific program, since some investment property versions do.
Six things that sink an agent file
Almost all of them are fixable, but only if you catch them before underwriting does.
Choosing the statement period by habit
If your last 12 months beat the prior year, a 12 month program can qualify you for meaningfully more. Defaulting to 24 months without comparing is the most expensive shortcut on this list.
Money that was never yours
Earnest money, escrow funds or a client's deposit passing through your account inflates the average and then gets stripped out, often with extra questions attached. Keep it out of the qualifying account.
Switching brokerages mid-application
A move changes who issues your 1099 and can interrupt the deposit pattern underwriting is averaging. If a move is coming, talk to your broker about sequencing before you write an offer.
Opening a new lead credit line
Financing a marketing push, a new vehicle or a coaching program during underwriting adds a monthly obligation to your DTI and drains reserves. Wait until after closing.
Assuming your own lender relationships apply
The retail lenders you refer clients to often have no non-QM shelf at all. Being told no by three of them is not evidence that the answer is no, only that you asked in the wrong aisle.
Sending a CPA letter without checking it first
It usually helps an agent. It hurts a team lead paying splits, where the real expense ratio may exceed the standard 50% factor. Know which one you are before it reaches underwriting.
From commissions to keys
Most New Hampshire bank statement files close in 21 to 35 days from contract.
Income review
Send 12 months of statements and your 1099s. We calculate both routes and both statement periods. Soft pull only.
Lender match
We shop the file across non-QM investors and compare how each treats referral income, expense letters and a down year.
Pre-approval
Letter issued within 24 to 72 hours of complete documentation, so you can compete on your own offer.
Underwriting and close
A human underwriter reviews the file, the appraisal comes in, you sign and get the keys.
Real estate agent questions, answered
Can a real estate agent get a mortgage without tax returns?
Yes. Agents can qualify through a bank statement program using 12 or 24 months of deposits, or through a 1099-only program using one to two years of brokerage 1099s. Neither requires federal tax returns, so marketing, brokerage fees and vehicle write-offs do not reduce qualifying income. Typical requirements are a 620+ credit score, 10% to 20% down, and two years licensed.
My commission income dropped last year. Will that disqualify me?
It is a common decline reason on conventional loans, where underwriting compares year over year and treats declining self-employed income as a risk. Bank statement programs work differently. You can qualify on the most recent 12 months rather than a two year comparison, so a softer prior year does not automatically follow you into the file.
Is a 1099 program better than a bank statement program for agents?
Often, yes. Your brokerage 1099 is a single clean document, and 1099-only programs apply an expense factor to the gross without deposit averaging. Bank statements win when you earn referral fees, rental or property management income that never appears on the 1099, or when your recent 12 months are far stronger than the last full tax year. Calculate both before choosing.
Do large irregular commission deposits look bad to an underwriter?
No. Lumpy deposits are expected in commission based businesses and the averaging method exists to handle them. What creates problems is money that cannot be sourced, such as earnest money or client funds passing through your personal account. Keep those out of whichever account you plan to qualify on.
Does a CPA expense letter help a real estate agent?
Usually yes. Most agents run a true expense ratio around 30% to 40%, below the 50% factor lenders apply by default, so a letter from a CPA, EA or tax preparer can raise qualifying income noticeably. The exception is a team lead paying splits to buyer agents, where the real ratio may exceed 50% and the letter would work against the file.
I am an S-corp and pay myself a small W-2 salary. What do I do?
A modest W-2 salary with the balance taken as distributions is a frequent decline on conventional underwriting. Bank statement programs can qualify you on business account deposits, adjusted for your ownership percentage, and 1099 or asset based programs may also fit. Bring your operating agreement and K-1 structure so the right lane can be identified quickly.
How long do I need to be licensed to qualify?
Most programs want two years of self-employment in the same industry, which your license history and brokerage affiliation can document. Some lenders accept one year for agents transitioning from a related W-2 role, with stronger compensating factors like higher credit, a larger down payment or additional reserves.
Can I use one of these programs for an investment property?
Yes, with higher down payment and reserve requirements than a primary residence. For a pure rental purchase, a DSCR program that qualifies on the property's rent instead of your personal income is often the simpler path, and it sidesteps the commission documentation question entirely.
Can I represent myself and still use this financing?
Yes. Agents commonly represent themselves on their own purchase, and receiving a commission on your own transaction does not disqualify the loan. Disclose it up front, since the way that commission is credited at closing can affect your cash to close and needs to be documented properly.
Different business, same problem
Send the statements. We'll do the math.
Twelve months of deposits, your 1099s and a ten minute call is all it takes to find out what you actually qualify for, instead of assuming your own file is the difficult one.
NextGen Mortgage Loans, NMLS #1621958. NH Broker License #1621958MBRR, MA Broker License #MB1621958, ME Broker License #1621958, FL Broker License #MBR4542, RI Broker License #20265029LB. Licensed in NH, MA, ME, FL and RI. This page is for general information only and is not a commitment to lend, an offer of credit, or a rate quote. Program guidelines, expense factors, credit, down payment and reserve requirements vary by lender and by borrower and are subject to change without notice. All loans are subject to underwriting approval, income and asset verification, and property appraisal. Examples shown are illustrative and do not reflect any specific borrower or transaction. NextGen Mortgage Loans does not provide tax or legal advice, so consult a qualified tax professional about your situation. Equal Housing Opportunity.
MLO License Info: NMLS #1621958, NH Broker license #1621958MBRR, and MA Broker license #MB1621958, ME Broker License #1621958, FL Broker License #MBR4542, RI Broker License #20265029LB
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