Case study 6 · Bank statements
Denied for self-employed income, helped with a bank statement loan
A self-employed buyer was declined because the tax returns did not show enough qualifying income. Sarah's team helped through a bank statement mortgage.
HelpedTold by Sarah Baraz · Mortgage Loan Officer · NMLS #1859224 · Team Baraz / CMG Home Loans The situation
A Realtor called Sarah asking whether she could help a client who had been declined by another lender.
What went wrong
The buyer was self-employed, and the tax returns did not show enough qualifying income for the original mortgage path.
What Sarah did
Sarah reviewed an alternative route: a bank statement mortgage, which qualifies eligible self-employed borrowers using business or personal bank deposits instead of tax returns.
The result
Sarah stated that her team was able to help the buyer using the bank statement route. The original account does not give a loan amount, specific program terms or closing date.
The lesson: Alternative documentation can be the right fit in some cases, but eligibility rules and total costs (bank statement loans usually price higher) must be weighed.
Facing something similar?
A denial, a shaky preapproval or a tricky income question is a reason to get a second look, ideally before you sign a contract. Send Sarah your scenario.
Send your scenario to Sarah See all case studiesExamples are anonymized and provided for educational purposes. They follow Sarah's own accounts; no names, addresses or dollar amounts are included. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Loan approval depends on the individual borrower, property, documentation, program guidelines and underwriting review. This is not a commitment to lend. Sarah Baraz is based in San Antonio and licensed in Texas, Florida and California.