Mortgages for truck drivers? (loan, guidelines, lender, Texas)

[Carrscandles]

My husband was let go from a local PA truck driving job that paid hourly, so in order to support our family, he took an over the road truck driving job out of Texas that pays by the mile. He is a company driver, W2 employee, but since it is paid by the mile rather than hourly, what are our chances of getting a loan? I am a stay at home mom, so no income to help. He'll be making about the same as he was previously making, and it's actually more of a stable income, as his previous employment was in the natural gas industry, which is very unstable. You never know from day to day if you will have any work. His new job is for a private company, so they have plenty of work to keep him busy all the time.

We want to move to Texas because all his loads start and end at their terminal, so he'll be able to be home with us for a day or two every week while his loads are getting ready. If we stay here in PA, we'll only be able to see him for a few days, once a month, and he has to take time off in order to come home.

We have a lender trying to help us now, but I am worried and looking for backups, just in case it doesn't work out. Everything else is in order, it's just the new job that's causing a problem. Some lenders (not our current one) told us that mileage pay is like commission, so we'd need two years of paystubs in order to qualify! But since he is paid by W2, is the two years necessary? We don't want to wait two years, and will try to rent if that happens, but with 3 cats and 2 dogs, renting will be difficult.

What are our chances to get an FHA mortgage to keep our family closer together?

[CSD610]

Whatever your lender requires is what is right so you have to follow their guidelines.
Just because he has work now does not mean he will have work in the future, no matter what company there is always a chance of a slow down.
I own 2 trucks and I am leased on with a company and work has been spotty over the winter because of the weather for all companies not just a few.

[Carrscandles]

I understand that. He's been a truck driver for over 9 years now, though a local driver for the past 5. The company he works for now is a private company. They are a manufacturer that owns a private fleet to deliver their product all over the state, and then their back hauls are whatever they can find OR bringing back supplies for their manufacturing plant. They are along the lines of Walmart, Frito-Lay, etc. The work is definitely there, and much more stable than your regular truck driving company, even in winter. :-) All company drivers driving the company's trucks, and of course, the company pays for all maintenance, fuel and other expenses for the truck. No owner operators.

[Carrscandles]

Plus, another nice thing about truck driving...if you are a good driver with a clean record (which my husband is), there's always a job out there for you! And now that he's got experience in the natural gas and oil industry, having driven a tanker hauling water the past 4 years, and supervisor experience, as well as driver trainer experience, he's golden and can be picky about where he works. :-) He had a few job offers when he decided to take this one. I feel lucky to have such a dedicated and hard working husband to support our family.