mortgages

[bi-blonde]

Dumb Question. When you apply for a mortgage and you fill out your previous employment history, will lenders actually call and verify if you worked a job say....3 years ago?

[amr]

It depends on a number of factors, the most important is your credit history. If you have a good "score" (usually taken from a combination of three credit bureau reports) then they probably won't check. If your score is low, then they may wish to verify your current source of income and past income levels. Expect them to verify your current employment in any case.

Other factors may include...
down payment: If you are intending to put down less than 20%, expect to also need mortgage insurance. Less than 10% indicates high risk.

life of mortgage: Mortages for less than 30 years are usually considered higher risk.

type of employment history: Did you have a lot of short-term jobs? Did you leave school within the last few years (short work history)? Lots of short-term jobs may indicate that you do not have a solid source of income and will not be able to pay. Recent graduates usually don't have the resources (i.e., savings, investments, etc.) to fall back on and make payments when hardship strikes.

I am not a homeowner or a loan officer. However, I worked for a mortgage insurance companies writing manuals and learned much of the business.

Hope this helps.

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a politician is an arse upon which
everything has sat except a man
--e.e. cummings

[This message has been edited by amr (edited March 29, 2002).]