question about owner occupancy (loan, loan, equity, Charleston)

[efipoliRN]

Hi all,
My family and I are relocating to Charleston SC from the Boston area in a month or so. I am relocating first and have secured a new position as a Registered Nurse ,
I have one broker that tells me that we must consider our new home in SC as a 2nd home because only one of us will be occupying it immediately. One other broker says that it can be a primary residences with one owner occupant and one non owner occupant. Our Realtor has also told us that this happens all the time where one spouse comes initially and the other does not. So my question is do we both have to take occupancy of the home right away for it to be a primary residence? My husband will remain in Boston for a few months and will continue to work in Boston during that time. We will be using both of our income to qualify for the mortgage, my job in Sc and his in MA.

[ncole1]

Are you applying jointly for the mortgage?

[FalconheadWest]

If you want his income to count, with a job based from out of state, it can't be a primary residence. He would have to show that he can do his job from the new home and that it won't effect his income. Those are fun letters to obtain from HR people. In your situation, it would be a second home with his job out of state.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by efipoliRN

Hi all,
My family and I are relocating to Charleston SC from the Boston area in a month or so.
I am relocating first and have secured a new position as a Registered Nurse...

Congrats.
RENT for the first year or two and certainly until the MA house s sold.

If/when you've settled that sale and KNOW how much net equity you have... then look.
This will also allow time to be really sure that SC is the right place to be.

[efipoliRN]

Thanks for the info,
yes it would be a joint loan we would be co-borrowers. We would not be purchasing until our MA house has sold. Our realtor here expects our home to be under agreement within a couple of days of being listed. We have been planning this move for over 5 years. We are certain that SC is where we want to be. I am mostly trying to figure out if we both need to occupy immediately for it to be a primary home. I will be moving in immediately. He will be staying with his sister in MA there will not be another home that we are owning. I did this am, read something online that says that with co borrowers one can occupy without the other and that if both persons income is used to qualify the one occupying must be the one putting the majority of the down payment. Our MA home is in my name only so the money from it would technically be "mine"