Got some great advice for Househunting

[Fandango 1,439]

Lemme preface this by saying I am not a mortgage broker/banker/loan originator/etc. THis is only heresay

Ok, so I sold my house years ago (right before the boom! )...anyways, I have been going back & forth to UK since. Now since we've decided to make a go of things here in the US, I've been back home trying to get things settled for his arrival. I've been VERY concerned about how we are going to qualify for a mortgage, but basically I've been ignoring asking someone about it, cos I didn't wanna hear the answer See, since I've been living overseas...I obvioulsy haven't worked in about 5 years. I just started working late last year. AND I'm self employed (could this get worse? ) Obviously, the point I'm trying to make is that on paper, we're not the strongest candidates for a home loan (me no job history, him no US credit)...which has always made me really anxious & stuff.

So anyways, I decided to talk to this guy I work with. He tells me that it doesn't matter about my work history because if I go 'stated'...they don't verify employment!!!!! You need a pretty decent credit score to go stated...like high 600's or so.

Now a foreign spouse isn't going to have any credit, and no it doesn't transfer over (I thought there was a way it might, but no such luck)...so D isn't going to be of any help whatsoever. BUT if you go 'stated' you can count your spouse's income as your own!

So if I make 50k and he makes 50k...I can say I make 100k and they will not verify this!

Hope this helps someone....or at least gives someone hope! I know it did for me!

Edited March 5, 2006 by LisaD

[cmartyn 0]

Interesting. My broker never verified my income AFAIK. I dont recall hearing the term "Stated" before. Whatever works I guess.

[flipside 0]

The best thing to do in this situation is get pre-qualified before you go house hunting.

If you go the no-verify route, you have to have a stellar credit history. Hi 600's is probably not going to cut it on a no-verify. I would venture to guess it would have to be much stronger then other candidates because your SO will zero history. But then again, they will only take into account his history if you apply jointly.

Pre-qualifying costs nothing, so you can do that any time.

[meauxna 15]

Stated or no-verification don't qualify for the same rates, typically.

And the high credit score is part of the deal.

[Matt_Stevens 5]

Try the 700's. 600's? No way.

[Fandango 1,439]

I work in the real estate field...I work with mtg co's all the time. There would be no reason to mislead me or give misinformation.

High 600s can qualify for stated income. Obviously it goes without saying that the better your credit, the better your interest rate. But there's no different a rate if you were to go stated than if you weren't. It's based on credit score. As for the foreign spouse, they wouldn't be actually on the loan, it'd be soley in the USC's name.

Perhaps each state is different...and since I'm not a mortgage broker, I can't dispute that what happens elsewhere might be different...but I am certainly capable of passing on what I was told by one.

Fyi, a pre-qual is not worth the paper it's written on....a pre-approval yes, but not a pre-qual. Prequals take 5 mins and only verify credit score...everything else goes by what the perspective buyer says to the mtg broker. A pre-approval requires formally applying....giving tax records, check stubs, etc.

I have worked with sooo many buyers who have been prequald and when it's crunch time, they've been turned down for every loan poss....

I tried to edit but for some reason it won't let me....I wanted to clarify that when I discussed that the interest rate would be the same...I mean in *my* case only. I cannot say across the board what one's rate would be...obviously I'm only interested in my own.

But seriously, I only posted this to possibly help someone else from hearing about a personal experience...not to get in a disagreement that what I'm saying isn't true. Like I said, I'm only relaying a personal experience only....

[Fandango 1,439]

adding one more bit of vital info that I forgot to mention: I am not going for 100% financing.

[DouglasSheridan 1]

just my two cents here, based on todays experience at the bank...

Just like ur fella, I havent got any credit score here, and no income since EAD hasnt happened yet. Still we took our chances and got pre-approved for a big chunk thanks to his good work and income. THey didnt ask for proof of income until it was crunchtime, and then a e-filed copy of his taxes did the trick.

We managed to put like nearly 40% down, so that was the luck we had, bank was just too darn pleased to not be at risk. As for it being financed by USC only, yep, we found out today that I def cant be on the loan agreement, and its likely I wouldnt even be on the Deeds for the house. Either way, hear say can sometimes be the best help... so I found out from personal experience. Oh and erm.... end of 600's is what mortgage broker told us when we went for pre-approval, she said anything in that area or above is excellent, then again, homechannel on TV keeps mentioning how bad score shouldnt be a prob, so what is it?

Anyhow, good luck with the househunting, hope u and ur guy find a nice one to start ur lives in it together

[flipside 0]

My dog could get a mortgage if he put 40% down

[gaijin 0]

Hi,

We just bought a house, and were only able to finance it because we had over 20% as a down payment and I had a very good credit score (high 700's) My husband, the non-USC, had no credit history in the US and his income could not qualify on the mortgage-its all based on my income, and credit history. My job here doesn't pay very well, but because we bought a duplex and will be renting out the upper floor of our house, that rental income was counted in with my income, allowing us to be approved for a bigger loan, and buy the house we wanted. Luckily it all worked out, and we are now homeowners (and landlords!)

[tamarae 0]

This is all very good info, thanks for posting the discussion.

Our situation is that I work, make only moderate income ( I clear the 125% of poverty level for our family size no problem), and last time I checked into my credit history/report it was half crummy, there were only 3 hits against it, and they were from 1998-1999, and none of it my fault. One of them I can/have handled, but its still on my report. I called these companies trying to clear it all, and the largest one was from a cell phone company bought out by Cingular who verified that my acct was in good standing since I opened it way back at the date in question. I could not get this removed from my credit report even though no one could prove the numbers/accounts in question on my credit report.

Is there a good way to go about clearing it all up before I try to apply for a home loan? My fiance (from UK, presently unemployed as we're getting married in 10 days) and I want to buy a house within a year or two, but I want to be able to qualify for as much as possible so we can shop in whatever range we can afford, not what the bank deems "affordable" to us.

Is there any way to convince a loan/mortgage company, with say 10% down or so, that the huge payments you make in rent every month would be a great house payment instead? I'd like to own a house so unlike rent, by the time its all said and done, I have something to show for the 1000 dollars I pay a month for a house to live in.

Any other advice for a soon to be homebuying noobie?

[flipside 0]

Any other advice for a soon to be homebuying noobie?

Well.. every situation is different. To start, you said these "dings" on your credit report are from 98-99. Once they reach the 7 year mark, you can go online and dispute them. By law, nothing over 7 years old can remain on your credit report if you don't want it there.

As far as putting 10% down, I would try another approach. I only had about 10% to put down as well, so I would have ended up paying PMI (Primary mortgage insurance - required by law in most states). Depending on the size of your loan, it could be quite a bit. In my case, if I didn't put down 20% my PMI would have been $480/month, on top of the mortgage and taxes. My broker recommended that I do an 80/20 loan. This is basically 100% financing in 2 loans, 1 for 80% and one for 20% and no PMI. I had the 10% left over that I would have used as a down payment to cover closing costs and buy furniture & stuff.

Like I said, every situation is different. The is the biggest purchase of most peoples lives. The best thing to do is to have a sit down with a good mortgage provider or a quality broker and work out all your options.

[Fandango 1,439]

You can pay PMI upfront in one lump sum, then it's usually about 1%

And I dunno how they do it elsewhere, but in FL the last two years credit are what they are primarily interested in....

[flipside 0]

You can pay PMI upfront in one lump sum, then it's usually about 1%

Damn.. it must be different in FL because if it was only 1% I would have gone down that route..

[DouglasSheridan 1]

My dog could get a mortgage if he put 40% down

LOL fair enough, guess you got a point there...