Aldermore Mortgage Guide: Self-Employed and Adverse Credit Cases

An Aldermore self employed adverse credit mortgage is designed specifically for people who don’t fit the neat, predictable boxes used by most high-street lenders. Whether you work for yourself, earn irregular income, or have credit issues such as defaults, CCJs, or missed payments, Aldermore’s approach is known for being flexible and human.

This guide explains how Aldermore assesses self-employed income, how they treat adverse credit, and what you can do to improve your chances of being accepted.

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Why Aldermore Is Popular for Self-Employed and Adverse Credit Borrowers

Aldermore positions itself as a specialist lender for people with:

• Self-employed income
• Contractor or freelance earnings
• Multiple income streams
• Accounts that fluctuate year-to-year
• Recent or historic credit issues
• Complex or non-linear financial backgrounds

Unlike many mainstream lenders, Aldermore does not rely solely on automated credit scoring.
They manually assess the story behind your application — which is often critical for self-employed applicants or individuals rebuilding credit.

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How Aldermore Assesses Self-Employed Income

One of Aldermore’s main strengths is how they treat income for:

Sole Traders

Aldermore typically reviews your net profit from the last 1–2 years. They may be flexible if your most recent year is stronger.

Limited Company Directors

Aldermore can use:

• Director salary
• Dividends
• Retained profit in some cases
• Business bank statements for context

This is extremely helpful for directors reinvesting profit into their business.

Freelancers, Contractors and Portfolio Workers

Aldermore takes a realistic approach to variable income by reviewing:

• Contract history
• Regularity of work
• Bank statements
• Industry consistency

They look for sustainability rather than perfect earnings.

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What Counts as “Complex” Income?

Aldermore may consider:

• Bonus, commission and overtime
• Multiple jobs
• New businesses
• Irregular contract cycles
• Seasonal earnings
• Mixed PAYE and self-employed income

Rather than rejecting non-traditional income, Aldermore weighs whether it is stable and sustainable.

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How Aldermore Deals With Adverse Credit

Aldermore is one of the more flexible lenders for applicants with:

• Defaults
• CCJs
• Missed payments
• Arrears
• Unsecured credit problems
• Past debt management
• Low credit scores

They do not automatically decline applicants because of older or low-value credit issues.
What matters most is:

• The age of the issue
• Whether the problem has stopped
• Your recent bank conduct
• Evidence of improved financial behaviour

Older issues are usually easier to work with, especially if the last 6–12 months show stability.

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CCJs and Aldermore

Aldermore may consider:

• Settled CCJs
• Some unsatisfied CCJs (depending on age and value)
• Isolated CCJs linked to one financial event
• Older CCJs that reflect past issues rather than current risk

Recent CCJs may require a larger deposit or a stronger overall case.

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Defaults and Aldermore

Defaults are assessed based on:

• When they were registered
• Whether they were repaid
• The number of defaults
• The value involved

Minor defaults on utilities or catalogue accounts are often viewed more leniently.
Defaults linked to one-off life events can be explained as part of a manual assessment.

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Missed Payments and Arrears

Aldermore typically looks for:

• No recent missed payments
• Clean conduct in the last 6–12 months
• Controlled and predictable spending
• No repeated arrears patterns

Historic arrears may still be acceptable if they are isolated and fully resolved.

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How Aldermore Assesses Bank Statements

Aldermore places strong emphasis on real-life affordability. They check for:

• Regular income flow
• Consistent business account health
• Stable monthly expenditure
• No repeated overdraft reliance
• No returned direct debits
• Sensible use of credit
• Low or reasonable gambling activity

Even with past credit issues, your recent conduct can significantly strengthen your application.

We cover this in more detail in our guide on what lenders look for on bank statements.

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Deposit Requirements for Aldermore

Deposit size depends on:

• Severity of adverse credit
• Whether issues are recent or historic
• Income complexity
• Property type
• Loan-to-value (LTV) requested

Applicants with clean recent behaviour and strong affordability can often access higher LTVs.

More significant or recent issues usually require a stronger deposit.

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Who Aldermore Is Best Suited For

You may benefit from Aldermore if you:

• Have self-employed or contract income
• Have been rejected by high-street lenders
• Have historic credit issues
• Have a low but improving credit score
• Need a lender who manually reviews your case
• Want realistic affordability assessments
• Have a mix of income sources

Aldermore fills the gap between high-street automation and specialist bad-credit lenders.

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How to Strengthen an Application With Aldermore

To improve your chances:

• Keep bank statements clean for at least 3–6 months
• Avoid new borrowing before applying
• Provide full income documentation (accounts, statements, tax records)
• Demonstrate stable or recovering credit behaviour
• Reduce credit card balances
• Keep spending predictable
• Build the largest deposit you can
• Provide clear explanations for past issues

Aldermore rewards consistency, transparency and clear evidence.

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Final Thoughts

An Aldermore self employed adverse credit mortgage can be the perfect fit for applicants who fall outside mainstream criteria. Whether your income is complex or you’re recovering from past credit challenges, Aldermore’s manual, flexible approach gives many borrowers a pathway to owning their home

This article provides general information only. For personalised guidance, regulated mortgage advice is required.