Q&A: What Employment History Do I Need to Purchase a Home?
When you apply for home financing, a general guideline is that you should have at least two years of work history to show.
What home financers are looking for is consistency and a job history that makes sense. What does this mean?
If you have changed jobs in the past few years, but have done so to further your career, as in getting a higher salary or taking on more responsibility, that would make sense to a home financing professional. Also, events such as medical conditions may keep people out of work for an extended but explainable period of time.
What financers are leery of are gaps in employment without a reasonable explanation. In our current economy, events such as plant closings, layoffs, and other reductions in force are commonplace and can be easily explained.
What you do to put yourself in a buy-ready position after going through any of these situations is what interests a home financer most.
One employment scenario that might prove challenging for financing approval is a recent move from a salaried or hourly position to self-employment, as you may have little or no history of being in business for yourself.
If you have questions about how your employment history may affect your qualifications, contact one of our Guidance Account Executive at 1.866.Guidance or get started online in less than 10 minutes.
