How long is the FHA Underwriting Process??? What conditions could they come back with?

[Anonymous]

I am a FTHB and just went into underwriting last week.  Does anyone have a good gauge on how long this takes? I'm very nervous about the process and although my LO said there shouldn't be any problems I have heard many horror stories lately.  My FICO was 674 (LO pull), but I did have credit problems about 10 years ago.  Since then (everything was paid off about 7-8 years ago) I really didn't use any credit.  I now only have one CC and I pay it off every month.  I have very stable job history (9 years at the same company - earning more each year), but am concerned about credit.

I'm also not sure what potential conditions might come back - can anyone tell me some things they have been required to submit or been asked for?

Thanks!

[hawkeye33]

Ten years is quite a while. I wouldn't anticipate any major issues, either. I would guess that the UW process is taking a long time because of volume of work for the UW. I'm in UW also right now. I heard back with the first conditions after 5 business days. I am going USDA, so the majority of my conditions have been in an effort to document eligibility (there are maximum income amounts based on location, and the specific property must qualify for their rural development program).

I'm assuming you've provided W2s for at least the last year, if not 2 years. I'm assuming you've also provided paystubs for the last couple of months. Depending on the severity of the issues ten years ago, as well as the number of those derogs that might still be showing on your credit report, you may have to write some explanatory details on what happened to cause the credit issues and why you are in a better position now than you were back then to take on a mortgage. However, if you've been completely clean for 8+ years, I would guess it's just a matter of waiting.

As far as timeframes, stay in touch with your LO, and ping him if it goes beyond a week and you haven't heard anything. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

They have W2s & tax returns for the last 3 years, bank statements for the last 90 days, pay stubs for the last 90 days, etc. More because I wanted to be prepared rather than being required to have all of that.

10 years ago I was a young, stupid college student and got a couple of CCs and couldn't pay them.  Low limits and they were paid off eventually, but it was still a big mistake. Since then I have had a clean record.  There was one negative that showed up on my credit report in error, but I since got a letter from the company advising there was an error and they were removing the negative mark.  I also disputed it and received confirmation from TU that it's been removed.  I gave my LO a copy of the letter prior to UW just in case it popped up.

I'm just anxious about the whole process and hope that everything will go smoothly.  If all I need to do is provide more paperwork or provide some clarification on past mistakes I can do that easily and quickly.  

[hawkeye33]

Sounds like you're in good shape. Now you just have to work on patience (as do I).

[Anonymous]

Very good point.

Thank you for your encouragement!