Yes, the self employed status does tend to bugger it up, making enquiries most lenders want 3 years accounts and the lending is based on the retained profits, which are practically nil, so option B is to put a large wad down and then put yourself at the mercy of a broker, typically 2 percent of the loan but max LTV I could find was 60 percent. The other option is to use your wad to buy two smaller houses to rent out and use the income to rent in the SE, but the thought of retiring to a 2 up 2 down in Bedford student area and watching Karaoke at the pub is not so attractive. If one is prepared to travel a little further south you can get a reasonable abode for around 700K, which means raiding the pension or emptying the mattress in the ME. As mentioned, NLH do not seem to have too much problem attracting the people and at the moment they have no need to raise the bar. Mistakenly I thought the salary was to enjoy life, not to build a castle, no matter how big your house your grave will be the same size
