It may at first seem frustrating that because one is taking the risk of going into business for themselves that it's more difficult and stressful when it comes to a home loan and possible refinancing of an existing property. The good news is that today the barriers to entry have reduced significantly. This is in part due to many second tier lenders actively filling this "gap" in the marketplace.

That said, there are still a few more "hoops" to jump, opposed to applying for a standard fixed rate mortgage or remortgage as an employee. This is why it makes such good "common sense" to use the services of a mortgage adviser to help you during this process. If you are self-employed, it means you are probably entrepreneurial, which means you "know" that to get the best of both worlds, is to use an adviser.
 
One bank, depending on their current policies, may suit you better than another. A mortgage adviser is likely to "know" the right fit for your business. Further to this, when the main banks, because of their current lending criteria, wont. A mortgage adviser ill automatically introduce you to the wide range of second tier mortgage lenders. You may be surprised how many there actually are!

Often it is beneficial for someone who is self-employed to structure the loan as with either a revolving credit or offset mortgage.