Self-employed? Good luck getting a mortgage

It's never been easy to get a mortgage if you're self-employed. But a recent analysis of mortgage data shows just how much harder it is.

Getting lenders to quote you a rate is tougher if you don't work for someone else, according to a report Thursday from real estate researcher Zillow.

Though they typically have higher incomes, put more money down and buy bigger homes, self-employed online mortgage shoppers got just six loan quotes from lenders for every 10 offered to borrowers who aren't self-employed, Zillow found.

"That's the first battle," said Erin Lantz, vice president of mortgages at Zillow."The second battle is actually getting through all the paperwork."

Read more: Regardless of their employment status, mortgage applicants today need to be prepared for a time-consuming paper chase. For a salaried worker, a batch of W-2 forms, pay stubs and bank statements will get the ball rolling.