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Generally, lenders will evaluate the four Cs when determining a borrower's eligibility for a mortgage. If your self-employed, you'll still be evaluated on the four Cs, but may be asked to provide some different or additional documentation to determine how much you may be qualified to borrow.

1. Capacity: Lenders look at your income, employment history, savings, and monthly debt payments, such as credit card charges and other financial obligations, to make sure that you have the capacity to take on a mortgage comfortably.
2. Capital: Lenders consider your readily available money and savings plus investments, and other assets that you could sell fairly quickly for cash. Having these reserves demonstrates that you have additional funds, in addition to your income, that are readily available to pay the mortgage.
3. Collateral: Lenders take into account the value of the property that you're pledging as security against the loan. Depending on how your personal business is organized, additional documentation may be required.
4. Credit: Lenders check your credit score and history to assess your record of paying bills and other debts on time.