Furness Building Society contractor mortgages
Furness is a small mutual that underwrites every case manually — no credit-score cut-offs — which makes it a real option for contractors whose circumstances fall outside a standard template.
Can a contractor get a Furness mortgage?
Yes — and Furness is often worth a look precisely when the case is awkward. It underwrites manually across the board, so a real assessor can consider gaps between contracts, mixed income, or a recent change that an automated lender would reject on sight.
Small mutuals like Furness trade scale for judgement. They will not be the answer on every case, but on a non-standard one they can find a way through where a bigger lender’s rules simply say no.
Where Furness fits
It suits contractors with a gap between contracts, complex or lumpy income, unusual property, or a profile that needs explaining. Because every case is read by a person, the story behind the numbers can be taken into account.
A contractor with a recent gap
Weeks worked last year: 42
Evidenced income: ≈ £84,000
An illustration; the assessed basis is settled once the case reaches an underwriter.
Does manual underwriting cost more at Furness?
Its rates sit in a competitive mutual range; the flexibility is in the assessment rather than a surcharge. On a genuinely complex case, being assessed at all is the point — and Furness prices fairly for it.
Furness or a mainstream lender?
For a clean, standard case a bigger lender will be quicker and may price lower. Furness comes into play when the case needs a human to say yes. If the issue is credit rather than complexity, a specialist adverse lender may fit better — we work out which.
A note on criteria
Furness underwrites case by case, so a published figure means little for your situation — which is rather the point. We put the actual case to it rather than quoting a rule that may not apply.
Smart Mortgage Solutions is an independent, whole-of-market broker. We have no affiliation with Furness Building Society and are not endorsed by it; the lender is named here only to describe lending we can arrange. Anything we say about its approach is subject to change and is confirmed at the point of application.
Lenders we work with — a selection
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Furness Building Society contractor mortgages, answered
Is Furness good for non-standard contractor cases?+
Yes — it underwrites every case by hand, so gaps between contracts, mixed income or an unusual profile can be assessed on their merits rather than filtered out by a score.
Will Furness consider a gap between contracts?+
It can, because a person reads the file and can weigh the reason for the gap and the wider track record. Whether it fits is settled at application.
Does Furness use credit scoring?+
It leans on manual underwriting rather than a pass/fail score, which is why it can consider cases that automated lenders decline. Credit history is still assessed as part of the picture.
Is Furness more expensive than a high-street lender?+
Its rates sit in a competitive mutual range. The flexibility is in the assessment, not a surcharge — and on a complex case, being assessed properly is the value.
Should I use a broker for Furness?+
Yes. A manual lender's flexibility only helps if the case is presented clearly, and we assemble the evidence and explain the context the way its underwriters need.