Posted on: 28th Aug, 2008 10:58am
If you do not meet the income requirements for an FHA home loan, you can use a cosigner to qualify for the loan. FHA loans are primarily offered to those who occupy the property as principal residence. But a cosigner on an FHA loan is not required to use the property as a primary residence. For instance, if your parents own a home of their own, but want to help you purchase a home of your own, they can cosign with you as non-occupying cosigners.
Who can qualify as a cosigner?
A cosigner on an FHA loan needs to meet the following criteria:
- He has to be your blood relative (e.g. father, mother, uncle, etc.) to be a cosigner on the loan.
- If he is not your relative, you will have to prove that you have a long-standing, substantial relationship with him.
- He should meet all the required eligibility requirements (income, debt, credit, etc.) which you as a primary borrower have to meet.
Can anyone having an FHA loan cosign on another FHA loan?
It is possible that an individual has an FHA loan on his own property and he cosigns on your FHA loan on a different property. As long as the cosigner's debt-to-income ratio does not exceed the allowable limit, he can cosign on the FHA loan to help you qualify.
Can a cosigner help you qualify even if you have bad credit?
A cosigner can help you qualify for the FHA loan if you do not have good credit. However, if there are negative items like judgments, collections, etc. on your credit report, you will not get approved for the mortgage. In that case, a cosigner even with very good credit scores cannot help you qualify.
Hello there.
My husband and I are trying to qualify for an FHA loan. My father has offered to co-sign, but I am getting conflicting information.
Here is the scenario:
I am just shy of being approved on my own for the amount we want. Husband has credit issues and cannot qualify. My credit is fine, but I need a bit more income. Husband makes more than enough to qualify us, but his divorce caused a lot of issues.
Father does not live with me, and owns a home, but does not have an FHA mortgage.
Can he be a co-borrower or co-signer or help us at all? Is this a lender choice?
Thank you for your time.
L
My husband and I are trying to qualify for an FHA loan. My father has offered to co-sign, but I am getting conflicting information.
Here is the scenario:
I am just shy of being approved on my own for the amount we want. Husband has credit issues and cannot qualify. My credit is fine, but I need a bit more income. Husband makes more than enough to qualify us, but his divorce caused a lot of issues.
Father does not live with me, and owns a home, but does not have an FHA mortgage.
Can he be a co-borrower or co-signer or help us at all? Is this a lender choice?
Thank you for your time.
L
you're welcome and i hope you're successful.
If you have a cosigner can you get a FHA loan before the two years after bankrupcy?
What can I do if I qualfied for a loan, but don't make enough money. I know on most loan application ask. Do you have other income? Can my parents provide supplement income, but not be a co-signer on the loan.
melissa, the only way additional income could be considered is in a situation in which the person(s) also is a cosigner. so as for your parents, you'd have to have them cosign in order to have their income supplement your own.
If I'd like to have a co-signer that is not blood-related, what would be the appropriate amount of time to have known this person? Is three years a sufficient amount of time?
Thank you very much!
Thank you very much!
Also, is it possible for me to acquire a loan without established income with a co-signer? I'll have a substantial down payment, will that be enough to overlook the lack of income?
Hello Jessica,
Can you elaborate more on the debt-to-income ratio requirement of the co-signer?
Does the co-signer need to be able to cover the entire purchase of the residence on his/her own? Or is the co-signers ratio combined with the purchasers ratio to calculate the maximum loan amount?
Can you elaborate more on the debt-to-income ratio requirement of the co-signer?
Does the co-signer need to be able to cover the entire purchase of the residence on his/her own? Or is the co-signers ratio combined with the purchasers ratio to calculate the maximum loan amount?
Hi ToniO,
As far as my knowledge is concerned, there is no such time limit to know the cosigner. However, you can ask your lender if he has any special requirements in this regard. If you need the cosigner's help due to credit related problems, then I don't think the lender would look into the cosigner's income. However, if the cosigner does not have any source of income, then I think the lender may not allow him to cosign for the loan.
Hi jfuller,
A cosigner is equally responsible for the mortgage if the primary owner is unable to pay off the loan. As far as I know, the debt to income ratio is same for all. For conventional loans, the borrowers would require a debt to income ratio of 28/36.
Thanks
As far as my knowledge is concerned, there is no such time limit to know the cosigner. However, you can ask your lender if he has any special requirements in this regard. If you need the cosigner's help due to credit related problems, then I don't think the lender would look into the cosigner's income. However, if the cosigner does not have any source of income, then I think the lender may not allow him to cosign for the loan.
Hi jfuller,
A cosigner is equally responsible for the mortgage if the primary owner is unable to pay off the loan. As far as I know, the debt to income ratio is same for all. For conventional loans, the borrowers would require a debt to income ratio of 28/36.
Thanks
tonio, what is the purpose for your cosigner? usually, they are intended to beef up the income situation, but you claim that's not relevant. as for whether or not you need someone who's related to you, it has to be someone "close" to you - not necessarily blood, but an in-law perhaps, or a partner with whom you cohabit or something like that. you describe someone not close (like somebody you went to school with once) and that's not anyone who a lender will consider as a valid cosigner. in terms of the lack of income of a cosigner, you won't need one at all if you qualify for a loan on your own. and if you're trying to overcome poor credit by means of a cosigner, that's not going to work for you.
jfuller - the income of the borrower and cosigner are combined for the purpose of qualifying, yes. cosigner does not have to qualify for the loan by him- or herself.
jfuller - the income of the borrower and cosigner are combined for the purpose of qualifying, yes. cosigner does not have to qualify for the loan by him- or herself.
I was told by a lender that FHA will not do a loan with my score being under 620.
I have not had it pulled by the lender but I checked it myself and found the scores to be transu-630, eqifax-588 and exp.-565 but then on the same day I checked another site and they gave me scores lower then these.
I found some late payments from my bank that are not right like 3 of them one being a car that I paid off last sept. and it show i owe 334.00 on it still, never been late with them but wont be able to get the stuff cleared off untill the end of the month.also is it normal for there to be a huge dif. in the scores such as transu. one report showed 599 and the other on the same day showed 630.
Should I wait till after the 1st of the month to start looking for a loan though FHA. I make over 55000 a year and am needing to barrow 135000.00
also if I start applying for a loan at more then 2 or 3 places will it hurt my scroes right away or will it take a month before its reported were my credit was checked.
I have a brother that is a Doctor who is willing to co-sign but from what Iv read it wont mater with FHA if my score is below 620 am I understanding that right .
thanks and sorry for the long post.
taz
I have not had it pulled by the lender but I checked it myself and found the scores to be transu-630, eqifax-588 and exp.-565 but then on the same day I checked another site and they gave me scores lower then these.
I found some late payments from my bank that are not right like 3 of them one being a car that I paid off last sept. and it show i owe 334.00 on it still, never been late with them but wont be able to get the stuff cleared off untill the end of the month.also is it normal for there to be a huge dif. in the scores such as transu. one report showed 599 and the other on the same day showed 630.
Should I wait till after the 1st of the month to start looking for a loan though FHA. I make over 55000 a year and am needing to barrow 135000.00
also if I start applying for a loan at more then 2 or 3 places will it hurt my scroes right away or will it take a month before its reported were my credit was checked.
I have a brother that is a Doctor who is willing to co-sign but from what Iv read it wont mater with FHA if my score is below 620 am I understanding that right .
thanks and sorry for the long post.
taz
long posts are not a problem - you need to say what you're going to say, and if it takes a long post, so be it.
there are lenders (i'm not sure who) that will allow someone with scores such as you've noted to be eligible to borrow. in that case, a cosigner would probably also be fine. there are people who've been on this site indicating that they can do loans with sub-620 scores; hopefully, one will pick up on your post and try to let you know.
as for the discrepancy in scores, why a transunion score would vary in the course of a particular day is inexplicable. it truly doesn't make much sense for that to be the case.
if you apply for a mortgage loan with a few different lenders within a 2 week window, and each one runs your credit report, all those will be considered as one application. the same goes for car-shopping - if you do it in a brief period of time with several lenders, all their inquiries are treated as if it were only one inquiry. therefore, your score won't suffer drastically.
that being said, i'd say it's wise not to do too much shopping. you know where your scores lie, and they won't be changing that quickly; especially if there is incorrect information out there. why it would take until next month for that car loan situation to be fixed is something i don't understand. if you contact that creditor right away, you ought to be able to fix it right away (they ought to jump on it).
there are lenders (i'm not sure who) that will allow someone with scores such as you've noted to be eligible to borrow. in that case, a cosigner would probably also be fine. there are people who've been on this site indicating that they can do loans with sub-620 scores; hopefully, one will pick up on your post and try to let you know.
as for the discrepancy in scores, why a transunion score would vary in the course of a particular day is inexplicable. it truly doesn't make much sense for that to be the case.
if you apply for a mortgage loan with a few different lenders within a 2 week window, and each one runs your credit report, all those will be considered as one application. the same goes for car-shopping - if you do it in a brief period of time with several lenders, all their inquiries are treated as if it were only one inquiry. therefore, your score won't suffer drastically.
that being said, i'd say it's wise not to do too much shopping. you know where your scores lie, and they won't be changing that quickly; especially if there is incorrect information out there. why it would take until next month for that car loan situation to be fixed is something i don't understand. if you contact that creditor right away, you ought to be able to fix it right away (they ought to jump on it).
I am currently working full time and making about 30,000 a year. I am going to be moving to another state to begin pharmacy school and I have found that it will be cheaper to pay a monthly mortgage on a $70,000 loan for a house than it is to rent. Right now I don't have work lined up in the place I will be moving to but my father is willing to cosign. He is making 75,000+ and has no other mortgage. We both have excellent credit above 750. Is there a possibility of me getting a loan without a job lined up to where I am going if my father cosigns with me?
George
thanks for the Info.
I talked to my bank's sr. vice Pres. and he said that I had to disp. the item and when they got the dispute letter's they would update them then, he looked over the accounts and agreeded that they where in good standing and did not understand why the car note was showing a bal. as it showed paid off in sept. of 09. Not sure why they can't just go in and fix it but this is a small home town bank.
anyways thanks again
[Email address deleted as per forum rules. Thanks.]
thanks for the Info.
I talked to my bank's sr. vice Pres. and he said that I had to disp. the item and when they got the dispute letter's they would update them then, he looked over the accounts and agreeded that they where in good standing and did not understand why the car note was showing a bal. as it showed paid off in sept. of 09. Not sure why they can't just go in and fix it but this is a small home town bank.
anyways thanks again
[Email address deleted as per forum rules. Thanks.]
Hi Jessica, i have a borrower, father is going to cosign but father owns a home, what is the ltv limitation? Also do i have to add his mortgage payments against ratios?Thank you.
Hi student,
Your query has been answered in the given page:
http://www.mortgagefit.com/nevada/student-buyhouse.html
Take a look at it. I hope it will help you.
Hi lulumis,
Your loan to value ratio should be less than or equal to 80%. If your ltv ratio is less greater than 80%, you may have to go for the private mortgage insurance.
Your query has been answered in the given page:
http://www.mortgagefit.com/nevada/student-buyhouse.html
Take a look at it. I hope it will help you.
Hi lulumis,
Your loan to value ratio should be less than or equal to 80%. If your ltv ratio is less greater than 80%, you may have to go for the private mortgage insurance.