MANUAL UW - I need to write explanations! HELP!

[Anonymous]

My VA LOAN is supposed to close on Sep 1.

Our loan has is now being manually underwritten because our credit score is not high enough (590) they were trying to help us get it to 600 for an automatice underwrite but we fell short.

Now we have to write a DETAILED EXPLANATION for each deragatory item we have. (Which is many). For a couple, I have good reasons - medical bill, etc. But there are some where we were just BAD WITH OUR BUDGET and had late payments. Lender knows this, we had this discussion at preapproval and they said it wouldn't be an issue.

Please advise -- does Lender want some really specific reason for each late, and do we have to then kind of spin a sob story -- or can we just admit we did not budget our finances well that month and we have remedied that and are now in the clear. What are they looking for in the explanation? How much weight does our explanations have on the underwrite approval?

Also -- these are baddies from 3 and 4 years ago, not recent.

Thank you!!!

[NC_Mtg_Loaner]

The truth will often set you free.  Honesty is the best policy, etc.

You can consult with your LO about the content, but in this day and age you really don't want anyone thinking you are hiding a thing--this can be interpreted as mortgage fraud and that's not what you want to be involved in.  

Therefore, simply lay it on the table regarding your understanding of the fact that you mismanaged your finances in the past and that you now see the "evil in those ways' and that you have learned from your mistake.   If you have any savings in a rainy day fund or retirement funds you might be able to use this to your advantage, but I don't know if this is the case.