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Salt Lake City Mortgage has moved to a new home at www.HomeLoansSLC.com. Please visit me there for mortgage loan information, to apply for a mortgage loan in Salt Lake City or other areas in Utah, or just to read the latest news and my commentary about mortgage, real estate and living in Utah.

Employment requirements and FHA Loans

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With the recently high unemployment rate one question I get asked quite often is: “Have I been at my job long enough to qualify for a mortgage loan?” So here is the rundown of FHA guidelines for employment history:

The borrower should have a consecutive two (2) year history of income with the same employer. However less than two years is acceptable if changes in employers are within the same field or industry. This is common with many Union employees who may work for several contractors in a year period.

The borrower must be able to document the reason for gaps in employment of longer than 30 days.

A newly employed borrower with less than a two year history of employment can provide documentation that they were attending school or a training program for the field of work they are presently employed in. Examples of such would be an person who just got a job as an engineer and just received their degree in engineering or a mechanic that just started working for a dealership and was in specialized training for their vocation prior to their employment.

Borrowers returning to the workforce after a leave of absence must be employed by the same employer prior to their leave.

Borrowers returning to the workforce after a leave of absence and working for a different employer or field of work must wait six (6) months before they are eligible for employment.

Review your situation with your loan officer if you have any question as to whether or not you’ll qualify.

Foreclosures in the neighborhood

While walking this morning I noticed the house two doors down had a notice on the door: This home is owned by Fannie Mae.

I know, it’s all over these days. I’m sure many of you have had a neighbor lose their home recently, also. It’s sad. He and his family have lived there since 2004. This house is very cute and was cared for and loved by my neighbor. It was built in 1938 and has been thoroughly remodeled and the landscaping updated.

Like so many others though, he’s not losing his home because he bought more house than he could afford – living there for seven years is a testament to that – but because due to the economy he is earning much less than he even last year and he can no longer afford to pay his bills.

And he’s not becoming a renter. He, his wife and kids are all moving-in with other family and sharing expenses.

I guess I’m from a different school of thought about this recession. I am not from the school of  “real estate and mortgage fraud brought down the country”. I’m from the school of thought of “Yeah, there was some fraud in the real estate industry, but the biggest cause of the bubble burst was the economy already being on a downward spiral causing loss of jobs which lead to people losing their homes and cars and other things.”

I feel my position is supported by the fact that it wasn’t only the mortgage industry that saw late payments and defaults. All sectors of the credit industry did: homes, autos, credit cards, etc.

Why did this happen? Well I’m no economist, but I can guarantee that the people really responsible for the mess we’re in have shifted the blame to those without the money and the microphone and are walking away scott-free and richer than they were in 2007.

The VA Loan Funding Fee | Salt Lake City Mortgage

One of the great things about a VA loan is that there is no mortgage insurance (MI), however even the VA Loan Funding Fee can vary or even be waived depending on the amount of down payment, subsequent use or disability of the veteran.

Here is a quick guide to how much you can expect to pay as a funding fee for your VA loan:

Purchase and Construction Loans

Type of Veteran	Down Payment	Percentage for First Time Use	Percentage for Subsequent Use
Regular Military	None5% or more (up to 10%) 10% or more	2.15% 1.50% 1.25%	3.3% * 1.50% 1.25%
Reserves/National Guard	None5% or more (up to 10%) 10% or more	2.4% 1.75% 1.5%	3.3% * 1.75% 1.5%

 Cash-Out Refinance Loans

Type of Veteran	Percentage for First Time Use	Percentage for Subsequent Use
Regular Military	2.15%	3.3%
Reserves/National Guard	2.4%	3.3%

Type of Loan	Percentage for Either Type of Veteran Whether First Time or Subsequent Use
Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans	.50%
Manufactured Home Loans (NOT permanently affixed)	1.00%
Loan Assumptions	.50%

 The following persons are exempt from paying the VA funding fee:

• Veterans who are receiving VA compensation for service-connected disabilities.
• Veterans who would be entitled to receive compensation for service-connected disabilities if they did not receive retirement pay.
• Veterans who are rated by VA as eligible to receive compensation as a result of pre-discharge disability examination and rating and,
• Surviving spouses of veterans who died in service or from service-connected disabilities.