Not all qualifying income comes from a paycheck. If you’re retired, receiving Social Security or disability benefits, collecting alimony or child support, or drawing income from investments or a trust, that income can often be used to qualify for a mortgage — but each type comes with its own documentation rules and quirks.
This rounds out the income series I’ve been building — if you haven’t seen the others, they cover salary, hourly, and variable income, bonus, overtime, and commission income, RSU and restricted stock income, self-employed and 1099 income, and rental income. This post covers everything else — income you receive independent of currently working. [Read more…]
This post explains how lenders calculate post-closing reserve requirements under conventional (conforming) guidelines, and how FHA, VA, jumbo, and Non-QM programs differ. Reserve rules vary by lender overlay, so figures here reflect agency minimums — always confirm current requirements with your loan officer before making financial plans.
Editor’s note: This post was inspired by a recent HousingWire interview with Cameron Carter, CEO of Rosarium Health, on why aging in place is shifting from a lifestyle preference to a financial necessity. You can read the 
This is a question I get more often than you’d think, and the answer surprises most people: a bankruptcy doesn’t permanently disqualify you from getting a mortgage and depending on the type of bankruptcy you filed and which loan program you use, you may be eligible sooner than you’d expect — in some cases, before your bankruptcy is even fully discharged.
If you weren’t buying or refinancing a home in the mid-2000s, “subprime” might just be a word you’ve heard in passing — usually attached to the phrase “mortgage crisis.” If you were around back then, you probably remember it very differently: as a borrower who got a loan you probably shouldn’t have, as a homeowner watching your neighborhood fill with for-sale signs, or — in my case — as a loan officer watching an entire segment of the industry implode in real time. 
