Credit card payments for mom

[Santana5]

My mom doesn't have a checking account so I pay her credit cards every month (she gives me cash) Will this be a problem when applying for a mortgage?

[CreditGuyInDixie]

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@Santana5 wrote:

My mom doesn't have a checking account so I pay her credit cards every month (she gives me cash) Will this be a problem when applying for a mortgage?

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When she is applying for a mortgage or when you do?  (I am guessing you are talking about when you apply, but it'd be good just to get that clear.)

Regardless of who is buying a house, can you indicate the timeline as well?   Best guess is fine.  For example, will the property be closed on 3 weeks from now?  3 months?  Three years?

As long as the impending home purchase is not really soon, is there any reason why your mom couldn't have a checking account of her own and pay her own cards out of that?  No reason she can't give you online access to the account to help her monitor that, if you think she has memory problems, but there's a lot to be said for money not to be passing back and forth between you as you approach a home purchase.  (Also just good in general for you not to be paying her bills -- better for transactions to come out of her account.)

[Santana5]

I plan on applying for a mortgage in October or November. She doesn't want to get a checking account for personal reasons.

[medicgrrl]

There's really no way for them to know that you're paying her bills, unless you have very large deposits and withdrawals going thru. Even then, it should be easy to verify the accounts aren't yours. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[CreditGuyInDixie]

My understanding is that mortgage lenders don't like seeing cash deposits or money from friends/relatives (in this case it is both) in your checking account in the 2-3 months before closing.

But I am not a mortgage lender.  There are a number of them who hang out on the mortgage forum, so I would suggest you ask your question there (just give the additional info you supplied to me: that you are planning to buy a house in Oct).  You may get the same suggestion, however, which is that your mother open a checking account in her own name in the next few weeks, so that you can have July, Aug, and Sept with no cash deposits from her in your bank accounts.

[Backwoods]

Many of the lenders are still requeting 2  or 3 months of bank statements even from retired borrowers.  My guess a deposit of $50 or $100 would not matter but if its several hundred dollars and or you are on a borderline for aceptance or better rate they might start asking questons and want all  the docs to make sure you are not on the credit cards.   Can't your mom use money orders? Atleast for a few months.  Postal money orders or walmart money orders are not but around $1.

[Santana5]

I usually don't deposit the cash she gives me. It's about $400 in total. I just keep it for everyday expenses. I never thought of getting money orders though. I might try that. Thanks!