Getting a mortgage after AOS (after K1)

[BC97 13]

Hi all,

 

As many of you will be familiar - the K1 visa does not allow for work immediately. I therefore was unemployed for 6/7 months prior to receiving my green card in December.

 

My question is, does anyone here have experience with getting a mortgage shortly after receiving their green card? Does the lack of consistent employment history create an issue, given that I wasn't employed because I legally couldn't be? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

[mam521 2,103]

Your challenge will be credit score.  Grab Credit Karma or check with your bank (Chase has Credit Journey) and see how you stack up.  Employment history will factor in, but your credit score and down payment amount will have a big influence on what you're eligible for.  

[BC97 13]

2 minutes ago, mam521 said:

Your challenge will be credit score.  Grab Credit Karma or check with your bank (Chase has Credit Journey) and see how you stack up.  Employment history will factor in, but your credit score and down payment amount will have a big influence on what you're eligible for.  

I've been added as an authorised user to my wife's card, so I have her credit history on my name with a 700+ score. Will there still be an issue do you think?

Edited April 5, 2022 by BC97

[mam521 2,103]

If you and your wife are purchasing the home together, it's unlikely to be a major derogatory impact because she will have a long credit history.  If you're attempting to purchase solo, you will be challenged by a short credit history.  

 

https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/does-being-an-authorized-user-affect-mortgage-approval/#:~:text=What's more%2C the monthly payment,how much you can borrow.

 

When I first came to the States, I waited a full year and still had to pay for a lower rate (work paid as a benefit) because on my own, the mortgage rate would have been over 2.5% higher than the purchased rate due to my lack of credit history.  It really sucked because I had stellar credit in Canada.  

[Wuozopo 4,293]

36 minutes ago, BC97 said:

My question is, does anyone here have experience with getting a mortgage shortly after receiving their green card?

My wife got the mortgage on her own without throwing me into the mix because faster and lower rate.

[SalishSea 17,928]

1 hour ago, BC97 said:

I've been added as an authorised user to my wife's card, so I have her credit history on my name with a 700+ score. Will there still be an issue do you think?

The issue will be which rate you qualify for.  My husband and I bought a truck shortly after he arrived and was first working (EADs did not take as long then), and we didn't qualify for the lowest rate due to his lack of credit history.  My own FICO score is over 800 and would have qualified me for the lowest rate, but we wanted to purchase it together.

 

We just refinanced the balance on that truck loan for like 2% at our credit union, as he has been working and paying it off for three years.

[yoda one for me 322]

4 hours ago, BC97 said:

I've been added as an authorised user to my wife's card, so I have her credit history on my name with a 700+ score. Will there still be an issue do you think?

This is what we did, it boosted my score significantly as my husband had held that credit card for over 10 years so I immediately got 10 years of credit history applied to me.  

Our mortgage broker made a passing comment about our excellent credit, otherwise there was no issue getting preapproved or get the mortgage itself.

 

We also had a significant amount of money to put down so the mortgage we wanted wasn't crazy.

 

I also wasn't working at the time we got our mortgage and closed on the house, infact I'd had no income for almost two years myself due to the k1 and pandemic.

 

So yeah, wasn't an issue for us getting a mortgage jointly.

[YecaCruz 379]

Hi there!

I'm actually a mortgage loan processor. Although I'm not an underwriter or actual loan officer(I just take all the docs and info and organize it in a nutshell) I've learned a thing or two.

Not sure if you plan on going with a specific mortgage program but there are some out there that require a minimum 2-year work history IF they are to include your income into the overall debt-to-income ratio...however... 

For example: for a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac conventional loan less than 2 years of income can be considered as long as there are other positive factors to offset the short income history.

 

What exactly are those factors? Not a clue lol! That's where the loan underwriter will look at your loan app and make that determination. Could be the fact that. Just depends on whatever loan program you are going with (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, portfolio loan etc). 

[Ontarkie 14,280]

~~MOved to Moving to the US and YOur NEw Life, from TAxes and Finances - as similar topics are discussed here~~

[BC97 13]

11 hours ago, yoda one for me said:

This is what we did, it boosted my score significantly as my husband had held that credit card for over 10 years so I immediately got 10 years of credit history applied to me.  

Our mortgage broker made a passing comment about our excellent credit, otherwise there was no issue getting preapproved or get the mortgage itself.

 

We also had a significant amount of money to put down so the mortgage we wanted wasn't crazy.

 

I also wasn't working at the time we got our mortgage and closed on the house, infact I'd had no income for almost two years myself due to the k1 and pandemic.

 

So yeah, wasn't an issue for us getting a mortgage jointly.

Interesting - did they allow you to borrow more as a couple still, than your husband would've done alone? Our issue is that we live in South Florida, where real estate is expensive, so a single income won't qualify us for much more than a small condo. 

[yoda one for me 322]

14 minutes ago, BC97 said:

Interesting - did they allow you to borrow more as a couple still, than your husband would've done alone? Our issue is that we live in South Florida, where real estate is expensive, so a single income won't qualify us for much more than a small condo. 

Not sure about that, tbh. I believe it must've been wholly based on my husband's income as I imagine it still has to pass their affordability calculations - but we are both on the loan paperwork tho so I have a joint responsibility for them getting paid.

 

I do remember they were willing to let us borrow significantly more than we expected - we already had a price range in mind and they would have let us jump significantly higher but we chose not to. Our city has been insane for real estate prices because geography works against it - there is only so much land that's got access to downtown thanks to the lakes & isthmus situation. We did end up with a smaller place than we first expected because of all that, but we got lucky with a nice location that worked well for us. Our mortgage payment is only about $250 more than our rent was, I think, which works out pretty well now I'm also earning and we're splitting bills.

 

If you can't get anything worthwhile on a single income, perhaps it is better to try and get a year or so of employment history down for yourself so you can try again with a dual income? It sucks, but if it is going to make a significant difference it could very well be worth it.