Will lenders consider my spouses income on a smallholding mortgage?

Only if your spouse is on the mortgage. A lender assesses the income of every borrower named on the application, so a joint application with your spouse counts both incomes, while a sole application counts yours alone, even if you are married. If you want your spouse's income counted without adding them to the title, a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage puts them on the mortgage only, though each lender sets its own rules on who can be the supporting borrower, so whether a spouse can take that role is a lender check. Your spouse's credit commitments count too whenever they are a borrower.

Not always. Lenders may accept historic Airbnb income supported by around 12 months of trading accounts and booking statements, or, for a new or recently converted property, a projection letter from a professional management company estimating future income instead.

Some lenders may average two years of income where the fall is modest and explained, for example by a one-off expense or a period of illness, and current trading supports the higher figure. A lender that averages may switch to the latest year when it is the lower, so the fall counts in full, and lenders that read the latest or the lower year treat the fall as the new level of income. On profits of £60,000 and then £45,000, a two-year average of £52,500 supports £262,500 at 5 times income, against £225,000 on the latest year. The explanation and the choice of lender decide which figure applies.

A smallholding mortgage funds the purchase or refinance of a rural property with land, used for residential living, small-scale agriculture, or both. Whether the product is residential or commercial follows the property's use, acreage and any occupancy restrictions.

Residential smallholding mortgages follow the lender's residential loan-to-value bands, which on standard residential lending reach up to 95%. Where a case lands depends on the acreage, any restrictions, credit and income. Properties with agricultural ties and commercial smallholdings are lent at limits each lender sets for the case, so an adviser checks current criteria for the property.