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Before you apply for a secured loan it’s a good idea to put together a monthly budget that breaks down your earnings and outgoings. This should give you a better idea of your current finances and what you can afford to repay.
There can be some confusion about the type of income you can use as part of your application, especially when it comes to money received from foster caring, child benefit/tax credits, child maintenance and guardian allowance.
This guide will give you a better idea of what lenders tend to accept and other factors you may need to be aware of when you apply.
If you are currently receiving fostering income, most lenders will allow you to include this for review in your affordability assessment.
While the time timeframe may differ depending on the lender, they will usually ask you to provide a certain number of payslips/remittance advice slips and your most recent P60 to get a more accurate picture of your recent income. If as the foster carer your classed as self-employed, standard self-employed criteria apply.
There could also be a minimum fostering history requirement included in the lender’s eligibility criteria, although the length of time tends to vary.
To help you get a better idea of what to expect, you can talk to one of our advisors who will be happy to answer any questions you have about using foster care income.
Child Benefit is accepted by most lenders, so you can include this in the application form. Some lenders automatically build it into your affordability assessment based on how many children you have.
You will usually need to provide the relevant documents that confirm your income, and the age of your children will also be considered.
Most lenders will accept income from Child Tax Credits, which can be accredited by providing your most recent HMRC letter.
We can give you more information about the type of documents our panel of lenders typically request and answer and other questions you have about secured loans.
If you are applying for a secured loan and want to declare court-ordered child maintenance payments as part of your income, most lenders will be happy to accept it.
The lender will want to know more about how much income you receive, so it’s a good idea to have the relevant documents to hand. This includes things like official court documents and any recent bank statements you have available.
The age of your children can play a factor, but if you speak with one of our advisors, we can give advice based on your situation and potentially help you find an appropriate lender.
Not all child maintenance payments are processed through the courts, so if you receive income that has not been court ordered, this can be accepted by some lenders.
Affordability is key to any secured loan application, which is why lenders usually ask borrowers to provide bank statements for a certain period.
And if you are offered a secured loan, you are under no obligation to accept the deal, so you are always in complete control of what happens next.
Guardian’s Allowance is another type of government benefit that some lenders will accept as part of your application.
It is a tax-free benefit available to people that are responsible for looking after a child where one or both parents have died.
You can use your current period award letter as proof of income in addition to any other documents that the lender may ask you to provide.
If you are applying for a secured loan and want to declare court-ordered child maintenance payments as part of your income, most lenders will be happy to accept it.
The lender will want to know more about how much income you receive, so it’s a good idea to have the relevant documents to hand. This includes things like official court documents and any recent bank statements you have available.
The age of your children can play a factor, but if you speak with one of our advisors, we can give advice based on your situation and potentially help you find an appropriate lender.
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If you receive regular income from Child Benefit, Tax Credits, child maintenance, foster caring or Guardian’s Allowance, you’ll find that plenty of lenders are happy to accept it.
All you need to do is provide the relevant documents to demonstrate your income so the lender can carry out their standard affordability checks.
To get more help about understanding your eligibility for a secured loan and the type of child income documents you might need to supply, you can get in touch with the Willows team by calling 01656 766 158 and they’ll be more than happy to help.
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