Meet Sophie

34, HR business partner

Went part-time to look after two young children and re-organise family life after a separation. A few payments were missed and her new permanent role starts next month.

She hit a bump, but now she is back on track.

A sole purchase with a gifted deposit, following a separation and a period on reduced hours, with a new full time role secured but no payslip yet.

View our Life Happens range Contact your BDM

Application type

Purchase

Property & deposit

£280k, 10% gifted deposit

Income source

Confirmed future payment

Range

Life Happens

Mortgage with recent arrears and a new job not yet started

Sophie's case combines two things that could be flagged up on their own: recent arrears and income that can't yet be evidenced with a payslip, most lenders' automated decisioning would decline on the first and their policy would exclude the second.

Under our Life Happens range we can support members whose adverse credit followed a significant change in circumstances. And because 100% of confirmed future income can be used for affordability with no first payslip required, the new role counts from day one.

A breakdown of the case

Sophie's situation

Why this can be hard to place

Following a separation, Sophie reduced her hours to part time so she could look after her two young children and reorganise her family arrangements. She stayed in work throughout, but on a lower income than before.

During that period some payments fell through the gap, resulting in short-lived arrears on unsecured credit, they've since been resolved but still show on her credit record.

With her family life now settled, she's returning to full time work. She's secured a permanent full time HR business partner role starting next month, and wants to buy a home for herself and her children using a 10% deposit gifted by family.

How Nottingham Building Society would consider this case

We would look at three things:

The cause of the arrears and whether the situation behind them has been resolved.
Whether the new employment is confirmed and evidenced.
Whether the gifted deposit is properly documented.

Element	What we see in this case	How we would treat it
Recent arrears	Short-lived arrears on unsecured credit during the separation, now cleared but still on file.	Considered under Life Happens. We look at the number and severity of missed payments, how recent they were, whether the account is now up to date and the circumstances that led to them. Which Life Happens tier applies depends on how recent the arrears are.
Part time/reduced hours	Part time working to care for children while settling family arrangements, in continuous employment throughout.	No employment gap. A clear reason for the reduced hours and a confirmed return to full time permanent work support the case.
Future income	Permanent HR business partner role, signed contract, starting next month.	100% of confirmed future income considered for affordability. No first payslip required where the income can be evidenced.
Deposit	10%, gifted by family.	Standard gifted deposit evidence: a letter from the donor confirming the gift is non-repayable and that they have no interest in the property.

Eligibility assessment table

What makes this possible?

Our Life Happens range can support members with adverse credit following a significant change in circumstances.
100% of confirmed future income considered for affordability.
No first payslip required where future income can be evidenced.
Gifted deposits accepted with standard evidence.
Cases are reviewed by an underwriter, not a scorecard.

Got a case like Sophie's?

Someone who dropped to part time hours to hold her family together through a separation, kept working the whole way through, and let a few payments slip while the income was lower. Now she's stepping back up to a full time role that hasn't paid her yet.

Nottingham Building Society looks at the reason behind the arrears and the recovery that followed, and counts the income they're about to earn.

Explore our Life Happens range to see how we'd approach your client's case.

Explore Life Happens

What you would need to submit

The quicker we can see the whole picture, the quicker we can give you a decision. For a case like Sophie's:

New role proof - Signed employment contract or offer letter confirming role, salary and start date.
Employer reference - An employer reference confirming salary and employment details, as no payslip is available yet.
The backstory - A clear explanation of what caused the missed payments, the dates and background, and how Sophie's circumstances have improved since.
Gifted deposit source - A gifted deposit declaration or gift letter, plus source of funds evidence for the donor where required.
Continuous service - Confirmation of continuous employment through the part time period.
Current status - Confirmation that the accounts in arrears are now up to date.

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