Income that varies can be overtime, bonuses, commission, self-employment, etc. When getting a mortgage you need a two year history of that sort of income. This way you have a two year history and the underwriter can determine an average income.
Cash reserves are monies that you need to show a mortgage lender that you have leftover after settlement for emergency and for cash cushion. This convinces the lender you have some reserves after settlement in case of any issues when transitioning into a new mortgage loan. Obviously underwriting guidelines can change based on loan type and Read More
I had a file come out of the underwriting department recently, and learned something new. Apparently windows need to be operable and open. Sounds silly huh? But operable windows are important due to safety reasons and ingress/egress to get out of the house in an emergency. You want to hear more? OK, read on. Read More
Hi, it is Brian Martucci doing a video blog from the beach. I am in Manhattan Beach, California. Take a look. Beautiful, is it not? So, today I want to do a video blog about occupancy fraud. By occupancy fraud I mean somebody that says that they’re going to live in a property as their primary residence when they really have no intention to live in the property as their primary residence. They really are going to rent it as a rental property.
Why do people do this and say that they’re going to live there when they are not? They do it because they will get a lower interest rate Read More
There is a new underwriting rule change that is going to be very painful for mortgage borrowers. It has to do with open 30 day charge accounts. This relates to paying off credit cards monthly. The rule says for open 30 day charge accounts that do not reflect a monthly payment on the credit report, or 30-day accounts that reflect a monthly payment that is identical to the account balance, lenders must verify borrower funds to pay off the account balance. The documented funds must be in addition to any funds required for closing costs and cash reserves. This is very important. It used to be Read More
When a buyer and seller are negotiating over the sale of a home sometimes the buyer indicates they would like to have certain personal property from the home. The seller is OK with that either due to not wanting those items, or wanting the buyer to have them to help facilitate the sale.
I constantly get questions about whether or not someone who is self-employed needs a minimum of two years of tax returns, or if they can get away with one year of them, when qualifying for a mortgage. I thought I would answer this question and put it to rest. Please realize guidelines can change in the future. As of the date of this blog, the hyperlinks below are guidelines related to the history that self-employed people need, and the number of years of tax returns they need to document their income. Read More
