Arenja & Raj FinanzThe mismatch between your package and the bank's view
A German bank builds its calculation on income it considers reliable and repeating. Base salary qualifies. The rest of a tech package often does not, or only partly.
| Component | How banks typically treat it |
|---|---|
| Base salary | counted in full |
| Contractual annual bonus | often counted, sometimes averaged over two or three years |
| Discretionary bonus | frequently discounted heavily or ignored |
| RSUs and stock options | usually ignored entirely; sometimes counted after a track record of vesting and selling |
| Sign-on bonus | not counted as income; can count as equity once received |
| Foreign-currency income | counted with a haircut for exchange rate risk |
Someone on €90,000 base plus €40,000 in RSUs may find the bank working with €90,000. That is not an error — it is the bank pricing what it can rely on for the next thirty years.
Frequent job changes
Two years at three companies is normal in tech and unusual to a German credit committee. It is not disqualifying, but it invites questions, and it interacts badly with the probation rule: every move restarts a probation period during which almost no lender will proceed.
The practical consequence is timing. If a move is likely in the next six months, either apply before it or wait until the new probation has ended. Applying in between is the worst of the three options.
Contractors and freelancers
Working through your own GmbH or as a freelancer changes the assessment entirely. Banks want two to three years of accounts, and they assess the profit you declare rather than what you invoice. A well-optimised tax return that minimises declared profit will minimise your mortgage too.
It also matters whether your income comes from one client or several. A single long-standing client reads as employment risk concentrated in one place; a spread of clients reads as a business.
Blue Card and residence status
Many tech workers hold an EU Blue Card, which is a strong signal on income and qualification but a temporary permit. Some lenders take it without comment; others hesitate at the expiry date. The practical answers are the same as elsewhere: be past probation, bring more equity, and use the fast route to permanent residence — 33 months, or 21 with a B1 certificate — as an argument in writing.
What actually helps
Employer type matters more than you expect
| Your employer | How it usually reads to a bank |
|---|---|
| Large German corporate | very stable, straightforward |
| Established international with a German entity | stable, standard assessment |
| Funded startup | questions about runway; base salary still counts |
| Foreign company, no German entity | difficult — employment abroad complicates everything |
| Own GmbH or freelance | assessed as self-employed, two to three years of accounts |
The last two rows are where tech workers most often hit an unexpected wall. Being employed by a foreign company without a German payroll turns a straightforward application into a specialist one, even when the money arrives reliably every month.
Preparing while you are still comfortable
The best time to arrange a mortgage in tech is the least dramatic one: eighteen months into a permanent role, past probation, with a clean account and no recent job change on the horizon.
That window is easy to miss because nothing is forcing a decision. People tend to start looking when a flat appears, which is often three weeks after accepting a new role — the single worst moment to approach a German bank.
If a move is likely, it is worth getting a financing confirmation before you resign. It costs nothing, it is valid for a period, and it converts a future problem into a present option.
Budget calculator
Run your own numbers
Enter only what a bank would count as reliable income — the calculator will show you the difference:
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Book a free callPick a time that suits youCommon questions
Do banks count my RSUs or stock options?
Usually not as income. Unvested equity is a future possibility rather than reliable earnings, and most German lenders exclude it. Where you have several years of vesting, selling and banking the proceeds, some lenders will take part of it into account — and the proceeds already in your account count as equity regardless.
Will frequent job changes stop me getting a mortgage?
Not by themselves, but they raise questions and each move restarts probation, during which almost no lender will proceed. The practical advice is to apply either before a move or after the new probation ends, and to be ready to explain the pattern as career progression rather than instability.
I am a freelancer in tech — what do banks need?
Two to three years of accounts and tax assessments, and they will work from declared profit rather than turnover. Client concentration matters too: several long-standing clients read better than one. Expect a higher equity requirement than an employee with the same headline income.
Is a Blue Card a problem for a tech mortgage?
It is a strong income signal and a temporary permit at the same time. Some banks look past the expiry, others do not. More equity, being past probation, and documenting the shortened route to permanent residence are what resolve it in practice.
My salary is in dollars — does that matter?
Yes. Banks apply a discount to foreign-currency income to allow for exchange rate movement, and some decline it outright. If you have the option of being paid in euros into a German account, it simplifies the application considerably.