Planning ahead and WI question

EAJuggalo · ‎12-21-2016

My wife and I are moving to Wisconsin next month and are starting to think of buying a house in the first half of 2017. She makes much more money than I do but my credit is so much better than hers that she likely won't qualify. My understanding is that married WI residents can claim spouses income without them being on the account, how does that work with mortgages? Can I qualify on my own for a mortgage and claim her income on my application?

EX700 TU 704 EQ 694 4/03/22
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Calidreaming · ‎12-22-2016

Unfortunately your wife will have to be on the application if you want to claim her income. Do you think she could qualify for an FHA loan?

EAJuggalo · ‎12-22-2016

Right now there is no chance she qualifies for anything. In a years time, maybe. She's got a judgement and 120+lates on a student loan that are killing her.

EX700 TU 704 EQ 694 4/03/22
Cap1 QS-$4,500 Chase Freedom Flex- $800 Chase Freedom Unlimited- $1,000 Victoria's Secret- $1,200 Citi DC- $800 Amazon Store Card- $3,500 AMEX Hilton Honors-$1,000 Discover It-$1,000 Wal-Mart MC $290 Chase Sapphire Preferred-$5,000 NFCU Flagship $13,800 AMEX BCE-$1,000 AMEX Gold-$5,000 AMEX Delta Blue $1,000 Lowe's $5,000 Navy Platinum $17,000 AMEX BBP $2,000

Calidreaming · ‎12-22-2016

That sucks. I hope she is able to pull her scores up soon. Having to wait a few months won't be too bad. I'm sure the time will fly and by then you two will be in a much better position.

Anonymous · ‎12-26-2016

Well here's the real kicker ... Because of community property laws in Wisc, even if you leave her off the mortgage, her debts will figure into the mortgage, and that can cause significant issues.

It's not impossible, but can be complicating.

If she has a judgment, be prepared to pay that off before closing on a home.

Trust me on this, I'm in the middle of this right now

Anonymous · ‎12-28-2016

In order to use a person's income, they must be on the application which means their credit comes into play. In community property states, spouse's monthly debts will be added to DTI regardless of whether they are on the loan.