Home Buyer Q & A

  • We want to purchase a new home.  We are having a hard time getting qualified.  I was employed by a company that closed most of their operations, and they continue to keep me on in the same position but as a private contractor.  We are having a problem qualifying, and I do not understand why.  Help!  It sounds like you went from being a W-2 employee to a 1099 private contractor.  You basically went from being employed to being self-employed.  When this happens even though in the same line of work, you would now need two years of 1099 income.  Some programs allow for slightly less, but for the most part, two years.             
  • We are interested in purchasing a new home.  It is considered a detached condo.  We want to finance FHA, are there any issues with approval?  FHA does not require detached condominiums to be approved to offer financing.  As long as pre-sale requirements have been met - you are good!
  • We want to refinance our home.  We have a first, second and third mortgage.  We are, like everyone else, concerned about value.  How do we approach this?  First, we would look to get some kind of gauge on value.  This can be done by looking at current tax asssessed value.  We can then compare roughly where we would be mortgage debt compared to approximate value to determine our direction.  There are a lot of variables at play, so I would research all options to provide you with options.           
  • We purchased an investment property with cash.  We have renovated it and will be renting it out.  We used our equity line on our home and would like to reduce the line and place the debt against the actual property.  Can we do this?  Yes, as long as you have owned the property for at least six months.  A cash out refinance on an investment property can be obtained for 75% of the appraised value.  

- Jennifer Keenan, Senior Mortgage Consultant, NMLS# 101837, Tidewater Home Funding 757-366-8690