You sold more than most of the people you help buy homes. You also had a February with nothing in it, a spring that made the year, and a tax return with every legitimate deduction a working agent takes.
Then you applied for your own mortgage and got handed the same speech you have heard your clients get.
There is a specific rule sitting underneath your file, and it is worth knowing before you pick a lender.
The rule that decides your options
From CMG Financial's Non-QM Sharp Series guidelines (NMLS #1820, revised 09/21/2026):
Borrowers paid 1099 from a single company are not eligible for bank statement qualification and must qualify through full documentation or streamline documentation.
Read that against how most agents are paid. Commissions come from the brokerage. One brokerage, one 1099. Which means the bank statement route that gets other self-employed borrowers qualified is closed to a large share of working agents, and many of them find that out in week three.
It is not a penalty. The logic is straightforward: if a single company can verify what it paid you, the lender does not need to reconstruct your income from deposits.
But it changes the plan, and the plan should change on day one rather than in underwriting.
Which routes are actually open
Streamline documentation. One year of tax returns, business and personal, plus K1s and a year to date profit and loss statement. This is the shortest path for many agents, because it needs one year rather than two of returns.
Full documentation. Two years of returns, with the standard treatment of business income.
Written verification of employment. Available on the Sharp Expanded and Sharp Premium tiers, and not eligible on the Sharp Standard tier. Which tier you are in is decided by your housing event history and mortgage lates, not by your preference.
Asset depletion or asset qualifier, if you have substantial liquid assets. Also unavailable on the Sharp Standard tier.
Bank statements, if and only if your 1099 income does not come from a single company. An agent paid through their own entity, with multiple income sources, or with a team structure may genuinely be in a different position. This is a documentation question with a real answer, and it is worth answering rather than assuming.
If you do have multiple 1099s
The guidelines address this case directly, and there is a condition: in scenarios where a borrower receives multiple 1099s, the borrower must be in an industry where this is a common occurrence, with entertainment and medical contracting named as examples.
And a cost: if you cannot provide confirmation of no job-related expenses, a 10% expense factor is applied. As an agent you almost certainly have job-related expenses, so plan on that 10% coming off.
Documentation includes your most recent check stub, or three months of bank statements for 1099 income, including year to date earnings covering a minimum of thirty days.
The lumpy year problem
Commission income is not level and underwriting knows it. Two rules matter.
Declining income. Declining income across the last two years may be used for qualifying with a signed letter of explanation, and the lower of the two years is then used, unless the income has recovered in a documented way.
So a strong year followed by a soft year does not disqualify you. It qualifies you on the soft year. If you are planning to buy after a down year, understand that going in.
On bank statements, if you are using 24 months and income is declining, the last 12 months are used instead.
The application matters. Across every route, qualifying income is capped at the monthly income you disclosed on the initial signed 1003, unless you provide a satisfactory signed explanation for why the application showed less.
Agents are conservative on applications out of habit. Do not be. Put a defensible number on the initial application, because a low figure there becomes a ceiling later.
Business requirements you will have to meet
If you are treated as self-employed, which most agents are:
- Two years of business existence, documented by business license, letter from your tax preparer, Secretary of State filing or equivalent
- Ownership documented by CPA letter, operating agreement or equivalent, minimum 25%
- Verification the business is fully operational within ten calendar days of closing
- A business narrative and a documented internet search of the business
A name change or restructure does not reset your two years. A business is considered continuous if the name changed within the last two years or it restructured, for instance from sole proprietor to LLC or S-Corp.
If you pay yourself a W-2 from your own entity
Many producing agents run a PLLC or S-Corp and take a salary plus distributions. The treatment is specific:
Ordinary income from the business multiplied by your ownership percentage, plus the W-2 wages you pay yourself. Double counting is not allowed.
So the salary does not stack on top of the full business income. It is one calculation, not two, and an agent who assumes otherwise builds a budget on a number that does not exist.
The sequence that works for an agent
- Look at last year's 1099s. Count the issuers.
- If it is one issuer, plan on full documentation or streamline documentation and stop shopping for a bank statement loan.
- Pull your housing history. It decides your tier, and the tier decides whether WVOE and asset routes exist for you.
- If last year was softer than the year before, expect to qualify on the softer year and plan the price point accordingly.
- Put a real income figure on the initial application.
You spend your working life explaining this process to other people. You deserve a lender who explains it to you in the same order.
Common questions
Can a realtor get a bank statement loan? Only if the 1099 income does not come from a single company. Borrowers paid 1099 from a single company are not eligible for bank statement qualification and must use full documentation or streamline documentation.
What is streamline documentation? One year of business and personal tax returns, K1s and a year to date profit and loss statement. It needs one year rather than two.
My income dropped last year. Can I still qualify? Yes. Declining income over two years may be used with a signed letter of explanation, and the lower of the two years is used to qualify.
I get 1099s from several sources. Does that help? It can open the bank statement route, but you must be in an industry where multiple 1099s are common, and if you cannot confirm you have no job-related expenses a 10% expense factor is applied.
I pay myself a salary from my own brokerage entity. How is that counted? Ordinary income from the business multiplied by your ownership percentage, plus the W-2 wages you pay yourself. Double counting is not allowed.
Related reading
- Self-employed and business owner home loans, the full index for this topic
- 1099 Contractors and Gig Income: The Documentation Routes That Actually Work
- Self-Employed Home Loan FAQ: What Actually Qualifies a Business Owner
- Bank Statement Loans: How Lenders Actually Turn Your Deposits Into Qualifying Income
Why bring this file to us
- We ask who issues your 1099 before anything else. One company or several changes which documentation routes exist for you.
- We plan around a lumpy year properly. Two closings in December and nothing in August is normal in this business and it is not a red flag if the file is built for it.
- We are the lender your clients see. How we treat you is how we treat the buyer you send us next week.
- Broker model. Multiple investors rather than one bank's shelf, which is what a file like this needs when the first answer is no.
- You talk to the principal. Ricky Khamis is President of EPiQ Lending and a Certified Mortgage Planner, NMLS #173141, originating mortgages since 1999. Direct line: (480) 999-9842.
EPiQ Lending is NMLS #1936984, at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101 in Scottsdale. Verify all of it before you trust any of it: Ricky's EPiQ Lending profile, the Scottsdale branch, and the license itself at NMLS Consumer Access. Hold every lender to that standard, including us.
Send me last year's 1099s and the name on them. Whether they come from one brokerage or several decides which program you are in, and most agents have never been asked.
Program figures in this post come from the CMG Financial (NMLS #1820) guideline set named above, as published on the revision date given. CMG Financial is the parent company of EPiQ Lending. These figures describe one investor's program at one point in time. Other investors price and underwrite the same borrower differently, guidelines change without notice, and nothing here is an offer of any specific program or terms. Confirm current eligibility on your own file before you plan around any of it.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Rates, terms, and program guidelines change and depend on credit approval, property appraisal, income and asset verification, and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify. Non-QM, asset-based and business purpose financing carry different pricing, terms and consumer protections than agency financing. Consult your tax advisor regarding the tax treatment of any income or distribution strategy.
Find out which documentation option qualifies you for the most
Bank statements, a third-party P&L and full documentation routinely produce very different qualifying income from the same business. Tell me the shape of yours and I will run all three.
