There are things about you and your finances that are going to be studied, legitimately, before a lender will give you a mortgage. That makes sense; they are lending you a large sum of money. But, there are some things that are none of their business, literally!

Who you are โ€“ in terms of race, ethnicity, marital status, whether you have children or not, your age, or whether you are a member of any โ€œprotected classesโ€ does not change anything. Children_holding_hands

The income or debt of someone else in your household (if he/she is not going to be on the loan.) This is such a common situation for first-time borrowers, I wrote about it just last month. Because all mortgages balance income and debt, sometimes one person in a couple can get a mortgage, but the other person has too much debt or too low a credit score to also be on the mortgage. Whether the non-borrower can be on the Deed, depends on whether or not you are married.

Source of your income. The key thing that lenders are looking at with your income is, โ€œwill it continue?โ€ Therefore, some income will not count.

People who have a higher income at certain times of the year must be able to show a history of steady annual income. (Itโ€™s a good example to show seasonal employees who always get laid off for three months every winter, but earn well through the summer.)

motherbabyA common problem for young families occurs if the lender questions whether a woman will go back to work after maternity leave. If she is on leave and intends to return to work, her income should count.

 

 

How many lenders should you check with before applying for your mortgage? Your credit score will go down when you request a credit report for any company that will give you credit. That makes sense. Having a lender look at your credit score indicates that you intend to borrow money. If you make many inquiries to borrow money, it could mean you are broke! But, the credit scorers arenโ€™t that stupid. They know that people shop around for the best deal on a mortgage. To limit your credit score reduction to one inquiry, contact all your lenders in the same week or two.

 

 

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