Why does employee status matter so much for independent contractors? This is why. A pay stub for two weeks or a month as an employee, and you’ve got a mortgage. But be a contractor for even a year or be self-employed, and you’re barking up a tall tree:
Prior to the move, they found a three-bedroom, two-story house and made an offer for $80,000. The seller accepted and even agreed to let them move in before the sale was final. But just days before the couple was scheduled to close, the bank had second thoughts. The bank learned that Mr. Repaal, 28 years old, had just left his post with the Coast Guard, planning to help with his wife’s business and stay home with couple’s son, Adam, now 4. Until Ms. Repaal, age 24, who is an independent contractor, had two years of work under her belt, the bank said it couldn’t approve the loan. — Wall Street Journal 12/2/2010 (emphasis added)
One of the reasons we like Free Agent Source is that it gives employee status back to the contractor, without taking away the freedom. No exchanging your soul for loan, no trading your life for benefits. You keep the freedom you have as a Free Agent, and you go to work with confidence as an employee.
