We recently got denied a mortgage (FHA with down payment assistance) because the lender said the underwriters wouldn’t accept my wife’s work history since she works two part-time jobs. She works more than 40 hours a week combined, but he said they wouldn’t count her pay as income, until she works it for 2 years or goes to full time at one of the two jobs for a while. Is he correct? Wondering if it’s worth reaching out to other lenders or if they’ll say the same thing.
How long has she been working both part-times?
Zeek said:
How long has she been working both part-times?
Since late May
Zeek said:
How long has she been working both part-times?
Since late May
It’s not the lender denying you, these are all FHA regulations need 2 years of work history whether you are part-time or full-time to get a QM (qualified mortgage). What did she do before working these part-times?
@Zeek
She was in grad school
Did she work while she was in grad school? My underwriter brain could make the case that full-time school + part-time work would establish the required 12-24 month history for working 2 jobs. Did you provide her transcripts for underwriting? IMO replacing a full-time grad school with an additional part-time job would be fewer hours overall and could be considered likely to continue. But if she didn’t have a job while in school, 2 part-time jobs is a no-go for qualifying with less than a 12-month history…can only use the income from 1 of the jobs.
Her transcript is definitely useful as her job history then! What line of work is she in now? Find another lender. We have a client right now who is an RN with a few different employers. Same situation.
@Griffin
That’s a really good point, nursing is a common industry to work more than 1 job
Will one of her employers write a letter stating she is guaranteed a minimum number of hours per week? If so and the work is consistent with her degree I could make that argument with my underwriter to use the one job. And if the rest of the file is clean I am fairly certain I could get it through. Was she working either job in grad school?
No way around this… You need a 2-year history of working both jobs in order to use it for qualifying income…
It’s the history of working part-time that’s the issue. If she has been working one of them for 2+ yrs they could use that source but both together probably impossible to get around.
Yes, it’s worth looking into your options with another lender, but Fannie and Freddie both require ‘part-time work’ to have a 2+ year history in order to use the income. You need someone who is creative and trustworthy. There’s probably a ‘way’ to get financed you just may have to accept a slightly different end result.
@Gale
I have gotten part-time work through with less than two years if the employer will write a letter guaranteeing a minimum number of hours per week. Clearly, pay stubs need to be consistent with those hours and they need a two-year history in the same industry or transcripts that line up with the job.
You could get creative with non QM, but this usually requires a higher down payment and interest rates. Are you using your income to qualify also?