Questions regarding va loan and eligibility. (foreclosure, credit report, mortgage calc, rate)

[HollyRachel]

My husband just got pre qualified for a loan, and has fair credit. We are at the very beginning of the process. I am not going to be on it due to my low credit. I'm a little worried about a few things.

1. Since we share the same bank account does my activity still affect him? I bounced a few checks eight months ago so I'm worried about that. They can tell it is from me and not him. I'm assuming they will only ask for two months or can they ask for more?

2. We live in an apartment building. They have been very nice to us since we have lived here a long time. They let us pay whenever we want too since they know they will get paid. Because of this we don't always pay on the first. Most of the time it's around the sixth or so, but occasionally it has even been the 15th-20th. Will this make him not be able to get it? If they call I'm sure they would tell them.

3. I have also been late on our electric bill on a regular basis. It has never been shut off before though. I just looked it up and it states on the bill it is 30-60 days late, with late fee. There is no excuse for it , to be honest I just have actually never thought much about it being a few weeks late. I always thought that would be considered two weeks late? We do have some bills that are paid on time on a regular basis of course.

I'm just wondering what the chances are of this going through? He's got fair credit and has very stable work history and rent history. It's just the problem with our rent and some late, but always paid bills.

[jaynarie]

If you are not on the loan, they won't pull your credit. It sounds like your landlord lets the late rent slide, so I doubt that is an issue. I'm not positive, but I don't believe utilities would show unless they went into collections.

However, I'm going to be bluntly honest. You guys have no business buying a house until you can pay your bills ON TIME. Every single bill on or before the due date.

[HollyRachel]

Wow..thanks for being so blunt. Nothing like swallowing ones pride a bit, asking for help from others on a forum just to get bashed. It wasn't easy for me to get on here asking this. We are in need at the moment and could really use some guidance. We just had questions, not wonder if you think we deserve to own a house!

My husband makes quite a bit of money and we do pay our bills on time. The electric bill has somehow got neglected and was seeking input on the situation. Our rent doesn't get paid on the first because the owner doesn't care..he trusts us and knows he will get paid. He never even knew us before we rented to him. That is how dependable we are. This was his call. Before this we paid monthly on the first.

Please don't go around telling people they have no right to be in a house. You know nothing about us, nothing. That will just make a person give up rather than fix their problem. Luckily I'm not a young chicken anymore and can hold my own. Thanks for the not so much help. Have a nice day.

[Rabrrita]

1. Yes, it doesn;t matter who bounced the check, the account's in both names so both have to accept the repercussion from that mistake.

2. This is dependent on the landlord. They may say you pay on time, or they may say you pay whenever but they don't care. If it's mentioned that you do or have paid late, regardless of the landlord's acceptance of the practice, it can be another red flag.

3. If the utility reports payment history, those late payments will show up and you have another strike against you. If they don't report, no big deal.

Now, please don't take this the wrong way but there seems to be some nonchalant attitude about the finances and paying bills when due. Bounced check, late rent, not even aware of the electric bills... Seriously, you need to change the attitude fast. Although these are possible red flags, if they decide to gamble and give the loan, you do not want to take this attitude towards a mortgage. Cards on the table time; at this stage, until you take a mature attitude towards finances and bill paying, you really are not ready for a mortgage.

[jaynarie]

Originally Posted by HollyRachel

3. I have also been late on our electric bill on a regular basis.

Originally Posted by HollyRachel

My husband makes quite a bit of money and we do pay our bills on time. The electric bill has somehow got neglected and was seeking input on the situation.

So, which is it? You don't pay on a regular basis or you pay on time? You contradict yourself.

Originally Posted by HollyRachel

Please don't go around telling people they have no right to be in a house. You know nothing about us, nothing. That will just make a person give up rather than fix their problem. Luckily I'm not a young chicken anymore and can hold my own. Thanks for the not so much help. Have a nice day.

If my intent was simply to bash, I wouldn't have addressed your questions at all. I was just trying to help you out. You admittedly regularly pay bills late and have bounced checks within the last year. Forgetting a bill randomly happens. I've done it. We all have. The difference is that is it once every few years. You state you pay multiple bills late on a regular basis.
Sometimes people need a reality check. But, whatever. Good luck. I truly hope I am wrong and you are not back posting about an impeding foreclosure in two years.

[HollyRachel]

Thank you for your answers. I really just need to figure if we have a chance or if we should wait a year. Things are happening and we have to move fairly fast. You are also right that i do need to buckle down a bit on my utility bill. I am aware of this. The checks were paid by my bank and money was put directly into the bank. Just so you guys know although it doesn't matter but I have owned before. I owned a place for twenty years, no problem. Never dealt with va before and have never not been on it so this is a little different for me. Thanks again.

[ididn'tsaythat]

If your husband was on active duty for 180 days or more, he is eligible for a VA loan. The lender that he chooses still has to determine whether he qualifies for the loan. The other posters gave you very good advice. This loan will come down to his creditworthiness and ability to pay. It has nothing to do with the fact that it's a VA loan.

[Pfhtex]

Originally Posted by HollyRachel

My husband just got pre qualified for a loan, and has fair credit. We are at the very beginning of the process. I am not going to be on it due to my low credit. I'm a little worried about a few things.

1. Since we share the same bank account does my activity still affect him? I bounced a few checks eight months ago so I'm worried about that. They can tell it is from me and not him. I'm assuming they will only ask for two months or can they ask for more?

2. We live in an apartment building. They have been very nice to us since we have lived here a long time. They let us pay whenever we want too since they know they will get paid. Because of this we don't always pay on the first. Most of the time it's around the sixth or so, but occasionally it has even been the 15th-20th. Will this make him not be able to get it? If they call I'm sure they would tell them.

3. I have also been late on our electric bill on a regular basis. It has never been shut off before though. I just looked it up and it states on the bill it is 30-60 days late, with late fee. There is no excuse for it , to be honest I just have actually never thought much about it being a few weeks late. I always thought that would be considered two weeks late? We do have some bills that are paid on time on a regular basis of course.

I'm just wondering what the chances are of this going through? He's got fair credit and has very stable work history and rent history. It's just the problem with our rent and some late, but always paid bills.

Time for some Actual Facts from an Actual VA Lender:

1. 2 months bank statements. VA is more lenient than other loan types. At worst, he writes a one-paragraph letter explaining any mistakes. At that point: non-issue.

2. Regarding payment history, a Late Payment is one that is documented to have posted in a calendar month AFTER the month that it was originally due. So: another non-issue.

3. Utility bills do not come into play in any way, unless and except they are being used as Alternative Tradelines - - meaning, if there are no tradelines/no credit score. So.....another non-issue!

I do not foresee an issue, unless there is something unknown on credit (judgment, etc), or if income is such that the official mortgage calculation falls short. But You should not worry about anything in your post.

On another note, thank you for being a Military Family. Having worked with Veteran Homebuyers for the past 17 years, I can fully attest that the manner in which The United States of America discards its Veterans is sickening. I applaud your service, and I very deeply empathize with your occasional struggle. I personally believe that Veterans should be given Zero-percent mortgages, if not completely free houses, and two votes in elections.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by HollyRachel

Thank you for your answers. I really just need to figure if we have a chance or if we should wait a year. Things are happening and we have to move fairly fast. You are also right that i do need to buckle down a bit on my utility bill. I am aware of this. The checks were paid by my bank and money was put directly into the bank. Just so you guys know although it doesn't matter but I have owned before. I owned a place for twenty years, no problem. Never dealt with va before and have never not been on it so this is a little different for me. Thanks again.

I have a real problem with folks who "preach" about bill paying and such. There is a famous radio guy that basically makes his living being a "fire and brimstone" ranter about the evils of credit. His is full of it!

Many years ago my wife and I were both working and making good money but we had LOTS of bills because we were at the stage of our lives where we had growing kids engaged in LOTS of activities and we were furnishing our house and all sorts of other things.

My wife, who frankly is pretty smart and technically works with huge sums of money, had a bit of a casual attitude about when she'd pay bills. We did not have many actual "late charges" but we did have a fair number of "less than 30 days late" reports on our credit. I did not even realize this until I had a friend run a detailed credit report -- we had MANY accounts that we really never used but we opened when a store had a promotion or something. By closing those accounts we greatly simplified our credit report so it was easier to track and by switching over accounts to "auto pay" we pretty much eliminated late reports. We also made an effort to limit the credit we used even for short term (zero payments for a year) so that it would not look like we were addicted to credit / prone to spending. Our credit scores went up which made it cheaper for us to refinance our home which was nice but it was not like we joined some special church of "holy cash payers"!

Lenders are under increased pressure to eek out profits and that often means that they like to see folks who they can charge a higher rate to -- I'm not talking about true "subprime" borrowers who are a bad credit risk, just folks like I once was and the OP seems to be: a little less than diligent about having a "perfect" credit score. Everything you can do to improve your credit score and lower your cost of borrowing leaves more money in your pocket!

[HollyRachel]

Thank you both very much! I really appreciate it.