Generally, a part-time job comes with fixed hours, a consistent salary, and you’re working for someone else. A side hustle is all on you. You can start whenever, work whenever, and will be as successful as you make it.

It does put more responsibility on your shoulders because its success lives and dies with you. If you want to earn good money, you need to work at it. 

Can I use my side hustle to help with my mortgage application?

Having more income will help you pay your mortgage off faster. 

But, your side hustle won’t automatically mean your mortgage gets approved. That’s because when you include side hustle income in a mortgage application you need to provide ‘evidence’ around that income. 

To do that you need 12-14 months of trading history. The bank will want to know how much money you make, how regular the income is, and any debt your side hustle has.

For instance, I once worked with a first home buyer who imported racing car seats and sold them online to car groups and petrolheads. He bought them for $800 and sold for $1500. 

He had legitimised the business; it was all GST registered; he paid tax on all profit, and claimed expenses – and he still took home about $400 per car seat. He sold about 6 a month. 

Because he had been doing it for a few years, he could use it in his mortgage application. The bank could see a track record of the business.

But, if he had just started the bank would not have included this income. That’s because they think: “What if it doesn’t work out? Or what if you stop doing it?”

Is it OK to have a side hustle just as additional income?

If you’re not leaning on your side hustle to pay your mortgage, it’s extra income, but it will turn up in a credit check, so always disclose it.  

I recently had a young couple buying their first home. The wife had a side hustle as a consultant. She provided immigration advice to Filipinos coming to NZ (the couple themselves were Filipino). 

She did it after work hours and didn’t charge much (about $25k a year). 

The bank only wanted to know there wasn’t debt or liabilities tied to her business. There wasn’t, but they didn’t use that income for the mortgage application.

But they can always use that income to reduce debt, which will indirectly make their mortgage application stronger. 

Another client I have is a stay-at-home mum. She doesn’t have a day job, but has a little side hustle buying stuff online and selling it. We didn’t need her income to get the mortgage application approved, so we didn’t have to provide any proof around it to the bank. 

Her husband’s six-figure salary was more than enough to service the loan, so the bank didn’t care about her side hustle. 

Should I start a side hustle to help buy a house?

Starting a side hustle can be a smart way to boost your income and ease the cost of living pressure. 

The key is finding something that fits your skills, schedule and goals. Ideally, if you’re applying for a mortgage you don’t want to be leaning on your side hustle to get the deal across. But if you do want to use that income for a mortgage, be prepared to show a solid track record.