New construction mortgage question

[stema8701]

I don't think Ryan Homes does it. They would not start my build until I was fully approved through the Underwriting and middle score was 700.

[Anonymous]

One more question! I spoke to the lender today and he said we’re good to start building as long as we follow the steps he gave us. We’re four points from qualifying. One thing I didn’t think to ask is when they would start looking at bank statements and how far back. I wouldn’t want a wonky month with my bank to screw me up. Did they look at yours early on or once you got closer to closing?

[Anonymous]

They will want to see your previous 2 bank statements now. For you, that should be September and October 2017 statements. When you are around 30-45 days from closing, they will want updated statements as well. 

So the answer is both times. 

You're only 4 points from qualifying? That's great! That can be done by simply lowering your credit card balances depending on what your utilization on those look like. 

Do you have collections/charge-offs too? Does the lender want you to take care of those?

[Anonymous]

That’s what I figured. Yep, the biggest issue is utilization. We actually decided to just put it in my husbands name since his score is higher and we can focus on one persons credit. He also makes the majority of the money.

[Anonymous]

We did the same thing in the beginning. Put the house in my husband's name and then after we added all the bells and whistles we were out of range on the DTI so we had to me to the loan, which is where things went down because of my bad credit at the time. Another thing to consider, if you're able to work on your credit, you can always choose to be added to the loan when they start to package it around 60 days before closing. A mortgage is a huge thing to have on your credit, so if you can, do it. 

Sounds like you're in a better position than I was in. I had collections/charge-offs, ONE credit card and didn't know a thing about utilization. 

Depending on what your utilization percentage is now, by the time you close you can gain well over 20-30 points by closing. 

[Anonymous]

My husband and I went this route. We signed the contract with the builder Feb 2017 and we close this month. In February, I started with a 660 mid score and my husband a 580. Im now at 713 and my husband is at a 696. I filed BK and my husband doesn't have a BK. Neither of us have collections. I have a 6yr AAoA and my husband has a 3yr. Of course... we couldn't close before my 2yr BK threshold, 11/26/17, which is why they have it set for us to close 11/28/2017. Pay special attention to the contract especially the part regarding the earnest monies. Goodluck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply! I think we’re going to do it but it does make me nervous. My theory is our fate is in our hands. We save and budget and pay down the debt, we get a house otherwise we lose the house due to our poor money management.

[Anonymous]

Exactly @Traci1.