Update (as of 2026)
Since this article was originally published in 2019, the conditions for real estate financing for freelancers and the self-employed have changed. In particular, rising mortgage rates, stricter requirements for financial reviews, and a greater focus on long-term income stability now play a significant role. Banks continue to evaluate not only current income but also, to an increasing extent, the economic stability, liquidity, and future prospects of self-employment. Those who can transparently demonstrate their financial situation and have a solid credit rating will continue to have good chances of securing real estate financing in 2026.
Real Estate Financing for Freelancers
Freelancers are defined as self-employed individuals who work in a liberal profession and do not operate a business. Well-known occupational groups include doctors, journalists, attorneys, architects, engineers, and waitstaff. According to the statistics portal Statista, there were approximately 1.41 million self-employed individuals in Germany in 2018.
For this group of workers, it appears to be more difficult to finance a home purchase through a bank loan than it is for the vast majority of workers employed by companies or as civil servants. This is because banks impose stricter requirements on freelancers when it comes to real estate financing, and their respective income and business situations are subject to a thorough review. The process is therefore more complex and time-consuming, but in most cases it is not impossible once you have found a bank willing to consider a financing request from a self-employed individual.
Freelancers need not worry too much about securing a mortgage if they can thoroughly document their income situation and demonstrate the sustainability of their business—not only at the time of their loan application but also for the future. This will be easier to establish for well-established medical practices or law firms than for young startups that are just beginning to establish themselves in the market.
“It usually involves more paperwork,” explains Christian Hanke, head of the Interhyp branch in Berlin, adding: “In principle, however, freelancers are just as eligible for financing as employees if they can demonstrate a sufficiently current and sustainable creditworthiness.”
Compared to freelancers, assessing the creditworthiness of salaried employees is more straightforward and easier for the respective bank. This is because a careful review of reliable, monthly pay stubs and a tax assessment notice makes it easier to quickly gauge the potential payment capacity of a prospective bank customer. A monthly net income therefore represents a simple, reliable factor in the assessment.
For self-employed individuals or freelancers, whose income is typically subject to seasonal, project-dependent, and monthly fluctuations, the bank will need to conduct a more thorough review to assess their current and future creditworthiness. Lending institutions therefore require at least their profit statements, tax assessment notices, and annual financial statements from the past two to three years to obtain a meaningful and decisive overview. “Lenders generally want to see documentation covering the past two to three years,” says Hanke.
Assessing the income situation of self-employed individuals and conducting an economic analysis of their businesses is more complex. It requires well-trained advisors who understand these inherently individual applications.
Due to the large volume of documentation, processing such loan applications is also particularly time-consuming and takes longer than for salaried employees or civil servants, because the files must be read and evaluated more closely and in greater detail. “Due to the increased review effort, a request from a freelancer or self-employed individual may take longer, depending on the banking partner,” says Christian Hanke.
It also makes sense—and this is no different for freelancers from other applicants—to contribute equity toward the financing in order to potentially minimize monthly interest payments. If, as can happen with freelancers, a higher income is unexpectedly achieved, it makes sense to incorporate and agree upon special or additional repayment options in advance. In general, for the lending banks, a freelancer’s current and future creditworthiness is the decisive criterion for financing a new home, which represents a sound investment in one’s own future.
