The Pandemic Changed Everything — Including How Marco Paid His Bills
In 2020, Marco Reyes packed up his desk at a Makati IT firm and drove home to his three-bedroom townhouse in Commonwealth, Quezon City. Like millions of Filipinos, he expected to be back in the office within a few months. That never happened. By 2022, his employer had closed its Philippine office entirely, and Marco — then 34 years old — had quietly become a full-time freelance software developer, billing clients in Singapore and Australia through Upwork and direct contracts.
Life was good. His income had actually increased. He was clearing around ₱120,000 a month, working from his converted spare bedroom, no commute, no office politics. His wife Lia handled the household finances, and together they felt more financially stable than they ever had during his corporate days.
There was just one thing nagging at them: their home loan.
A Loan from the Boom Years
Marco and Lia had bought their townhouse in 2018 for ₱3,800,000. They financed ₱3,200,000 through BDO at a fixed rate of 8.5% for the first five years. At the time, it felt like a fair deal. Monthly amortization came to roughly ₱27,900.
By early 2024, their fixed-rate period had expired and the loan had repriced — up to 9.25% per annum on their remaining balance of around ₱2,850,000. Their monthly payment jumped to ₱29,600. That extra ₱1,700 a month stung, especially when Marco kept seeing news articles about banks offering rates as low as 6% to new borrowers.
"It felt unfair," Marco told us. "I was a better borrower now than I was in 2018. My income was higher, I had never missed a payment, and somehow I was paying more than someone walking in off the street for a new loan."
He started researching refinancing — and immediately ran into a wall.
The Freelancer Documentation Problem
Marco's first call was to Metrobank. The loan officer was polite but firm: they needed two years of ITR (Income Tax Return) stamped by the BIR, payslips from an employer, and a Certificate of Employment. Marco had none of those. He had bank statements, Upwork earnings reports, contracts with his clients, and a solid credit history — but no payslips.
"The officer basically said, 'Sorry, sir, our system is built for employees.' I asked if there was another way and she said she'd check with her supervisor and call me back. She never did."
His second attempt, at RCBC, went similarly. A third inquiry at PSBank yielded a vague list of requirements that seemed designed for a traditional small business owner, not a modern remote worker. Marco nearly gave up.
It's a frustration shared by thousands of Filipino remote workers and freelancers — people whose income is often higher and more consistent than many salaried employees, but who fall through the cracks of a banking system built for another era. (If you're also self-employed rather than a remote employee, the challenges are similar — our self-employed refinancing guide covers the documentation strategies in detail.)
A Different Approach
A developer friend mentioned Nook in a group chat. Marco signed up online that evening, skeptical but curious. Within 24 hours, a Nook mortgage advisor named Patricia had reviewed his profile and called him for a consultation.
What surprised Marco wasn't just that Patricia knew the requirements — it was that she knew which banks had requirements that actually worked for remote workers.
"She explained that not all banks treat freelancers the same way," Marco recalled. "Some banks now accept Upwork payment histories, foreign remittance records, and notarized contracts as valid income proof. Others are still stuck in the 2005 playbook. She knew exactly which was which."
Patricia walked Marco through the documentation package he needed to build. It wasn't simple, but it was clear:
- Two years of BIR-registered ITR — Marco had filed his own taxes as a professional, so these existed. He just needed to retrieve certified copies.
- Six months of bank statements showing consistent foreign currency deposits from his clients
- Upwork earnings reports downloaded directly from the platform, covering 24 months
- Two client contracts, ideally ongoing retainers, notarized or with apostille if foreign
- A one-page income summary that Nook helped him prepare, translating his freelance earnings into a format loan officers could easily assess
Marco had most of this already. Gathering and organizing it took him about two weekends.
The Numbers That Made It Real
With his documentation ready, Patricia submitted Marco's application to three banks simultaneously — a process that would have taken Marco months to coordinate on his own. Within three weeks, two banks had responded with conditional offers.
The winning offer came from Security Bank: a refinanced loan of ₱2,850,000 at 5.99% per annum, fixed for three years, on a 20-year term. Monthly amortization: ₱21,200.
Compare that to what Marco was paying: ₱29,600 per month at 9.25%.
The monthly saving: ₱8,400.
Over the three-year fixed period alone, that's ₱302,400 back in Marco and Lia's pocket. Over the remaining life of the loan, the interest savings ran well into seven figures.
"I actually made Lia check my math three times," Marco said, laughing. "It didn't feel real."
Nook's service cost Marco nothing. As always, Nook is 100% free to borrowers — the company earns a referral fee from the bank only when a loan successfully closes.
What Remote Workers and WFH Employees Need to Know
Marco's story isn't unique, but his outcome isn't guaranteed without the right preparation. Here's what Nook has learned from helping dozens of remote workers refinance successfully:
For Freelancers and Independent Contractors
Your biggest asset is a clean paper trail. Banks that accept freelance income want to see consistency — not necessarily a large number, but the same amount arriving regularly. Foreign currency deposits that convert predictably are actually viewed favorably by some credit teams because they demonstrate international client relationships, which tend to be stable. Make sure you are registered with the BIR as a professional or self-employed individual and that your ITR reflects your actual income. Underreporting for tax purposes is common but will hurt you badly at loan application time.
For WFH Employees with Foreign Employers
If you are employed by a foreign company — receiving a salary in USD, AUD, SGD, or another currency — your documentation path is actually closer to an OFW than a freelancer. You will need a Certificate of Employment from your foreign employer (ideally apostilled), your employment contract, and six months of remittance records. Some banks will also accept a letter from your employer on company letterhead. If your employer cannot provide these, Nook can advise on alternative documentation strategies. (The income verification issues for remote workers with foreign employers share some similarities with how OFW income is documented for refinancing.)
For Hybrid Workers with Multiple Income Streams
Many remote workers earn from multiple sources — a part-time employer, freelance projects, and perhaps a small online business. This can actually strengthen your application if presented correctly, but it can also confuse a loan officer who sees income from five different sources with no clear label. Nook helps consolidate these income streams into a coherent picture that credit analysts can quickly approve.
The DTI (Debt-to-Income) Factor
Philippine banks typically want your total monthly debt obligations — including the new mortgage payment — to be no more than 40% of your gross monthly income. For remote workers earning ₱80,000 to ₱200,000 per month, this is rarely a problem. But if you carry significant credit card debt, a car loan, or other personal loans, those count against you. Clean up what you can before applying.
Eighteen Months Later
We caught up with Marco recently. The extra ₱8,400 a month has accumulated quietly in a time deposit account. He and Lia are using it as a down payment fund for a second property — a small unit in Pasig that Lia wants to rent out.
"The refinancing was the thing that made me realize I actually had options," he said. "I thought the bank had all the power. Turns out, if you know how to present yourself and you work with the right people, you have more leverage than you think."
His advice to other remote workers sitting on an expensive old mortgage? "Don't assume you can't do it because you don't have payslips. That's what I thought. I was wrong. Just get your paperwork together and talk to Nook first before you talk to any bank directly."