FHA Back To Work Mortgage Experience And Closing On My Home

This Blog Article On FHA Back To Work Mortgage Experience And Closing On My Home Was UPDATED On October 13th, 2018

Big Banks Only Want 800 Credit / FHA Back to Work Mortgage Experience

I for one know firsthand about the headaches of trying to get a mortgage through the big banks or large lending institutions.

Quite frankly, if you don’t have stellar credit and ample funds in your possession, good luck getting the time of day from these guys
Let me be honest with you, I don’t have perfect credit by any means
I had a bankruptcy and foreclosure 5+ years ago which left my credit with a big black eye
The background behind this was the loss of a job
But as they say, so was life during the recession
When your household income is cut in half, it is hard to stay current and afford everything
We did what we had to do and we moved on
We slowly got credit cards back in our names, financed a vehicle, and had a perfect 2.5 years of payments while renting so we were slowly building up some positive history

In this article, we will discuss and cover FHA Back To Work Mortgage Experience And Closing On My Home.

FHA Back To Work Mortgage Experience And Qualifying After One Year

I thought that I needed to wait 4-5 years before I was ever going to be able to buy a home again, but I was totally wrong.

The lifeline came to me in August of 2013 under the FHA’s “Back to Work” program

If there was ever a perfect scenario for my situation this was it.

We lost 50% of our household income, we experienced adverse credit events, we righted the ship and got our financial situation back in order
My first thought was “let me start calling banks and mortgage brokers and since FHA told lenders to start approving loans with these qualifications, I should get approved no problem!”
Boy was I ever wrong

FHA Back To Work Mortgage Experience And Finding The Right Lender

I personally called or emailed about 15+ lenders in the span of about 2 weeks. To be honest, nearly every answer coming back from them was 1 of 2 responses:

Just because FHA wants us to do this, doesn’t mean we have to
We need to take time to investigate this fully
This is going to require a manual underwrite

So we aren’t going to do that (What this means is in these cases a physical person is going to have to review the file, determine the event, and make sure the borrower has met all requirements).

Laziness And Incompetence Of Lenders

All I can say is this just demonstrated just how lazy the big banks and mortgage lenders are.

They don’t want to do the little extra work to get someone a home who truly deserves it
What these banks want to do is put borrower’s info into Desktop Underwriter or Loan Prospector (these are Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s automatic underwriting software) and have the computers tell them who should or shouldn’t receive a loan
Anyone can do this as a mortgage loan originator or mortgage underwriter

But in my case, I needed someone who actually cared about my situation and wanted to help me.

FHA Back To Work Mortgage Experience And Finding A Lender On The Internet

So after a few weeks of hitting dead-ends, I finally came across a Google search for “FHA Back to Work” and Gustan Cho, the National Managing Director of Gustan Cho Associates got returned in my search.

I initially thought, why not give him a try as everyone else has told me “no,” so I was prepared in a sense to get rejected again
Boy was I wrong, Gustan Cho Associates knew all about this loan program
After going through my background and situation felt that I was a prime candidate to get approved to purchase again
Now, let me tell you, unlike a conventional loan, the documentation needed for this program is extensive as borrower’s need to be fully vetted before they will receive a loan
The underwriter will comb through everything in your history, the economic event, your bank statements, tax returns, bankruptcy filings, foreclosure filings, etc.
I did my best in getting the underwriter the required documents and “letters of explanations” (lox) to finally get approval to purchase my home within 30 days of reaching out to Gustan Cho

If it wasn’t for Gustan Cho Associates who knows where I would be today or how my life would be different!

My Conclusion FHA Back To Work Mortgage Experience

In conclusion, if you have recently gone through some tough times, just stay positive and know that there are programs out there for you to use. The worst thing you could ever do is go to the big banks or lenders as you will get the door slammed in your face every time. If there is the slightest hint of risk, you will almost automatically get a “no.” You just can’t take this to heart, as you need to find the right lender for you and your situation.

About The Author

Alex Carlucci is a previous client of Gustan Cho.

Alex is one of the most talented and knowledgeable individuals I have ever met
Alex Carlucci is a veteran accountant by trade by his extensive knowledge in real estate, finance, investments, and lending
Alex has amazed me and my partners
Alex Carlucci is a senior loan officer with Gustan Cho Associates Mortgage Group
Alex is a contributing associate editor and writer to Gustan Cho Associates Commercial And Residential Mortgage Information Center
Alex Carlucci’s passion to help people to help them make the dream of homeownership a reality has motivated him to get his NMLS mortgage loan originator license
Alex has been hired by Gustan Cho Associates as a senior mortgage banker and Sales Manager
Alex trains and manages a team of licensed mortgage loan originators
His natural leadership quality and the extensive knowledge he has in all areas of finance and life experience makes him a natural for the mortgage lending industry
Alex Carlucci helps our team grow to the next level