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Seems like you haven't been selected in a lottery yet which makes this worry moot. Gather all your docs and keep them up to date. Apply for all the lotteries where you fall in a best and worst case AMI. You can update your income on the site as warranted. See which lottery you have to submit docs for and decide how to go about it then. Your situation may change more than once between now and then.
Seems like you haven't been selected in a lottery yet which makes this worry moot. Gather all your docs and keep them up to date. Apply for all the lotteries where you fall in a best and worst case AMI. You can update your income on the site as warranted. See which lottery you have to submit docs for and decide how to go about it then. Your situation may change more than once between now and then.
Great advice! Also apply to lotteries you that are just out of your range. AMI’s get updated every year. Some developments take a while to reach out to you and by the time they do, the AMI may be updated and you now fall within range.
This actually happened to me with Sven. I made too much by $1k, but still applied. Lottery closed in March, AMI updated in April, I was first contacted in August and I’m moving in by the end of the month.
I think the bottom line is that any independent contractor they deal with will have lost their jobs and lived on unemployment during the lockdown. So my questions must arise over and over again, and I have to assume there must be at least some degree of rationality in how financial records during this period are assessed.
I would be curious if any independent contractors who lived on unemployment during the lockdown have subsequently been selected, and if so, what their experience has been in reconciling their income during those years with the requirements of the lotteries.
I'm a bandleader and so file as an independent contractor.
During 2020 and 2021, I mostly lived on unemployment. Hence, the net income on my tax returns for those years is uncharacteristically low—too low to qualify for a Housing Connect apartment—compared to the income I made in previous years and am making now, which would comfortably qualify me for a Housing Connect apartment.
Here's the problem this creates: if one wanted to estimate my likely income for 2022 and beyond based on my tax returns, they would need to ignore my tax returns from 2020-21 and instead average my tax returns from before the pandemic, i.e., 2017-19, but Housing Connects only asks for the last two years of tax returns.
This situation raises some questions and concerns:
(1) Now that my business and income are back to normal, in my Household Profile I have made an honest estimate of what my Household Income is likely to be for 2022, which is necessarily much higher than the net income on my tax returns from 2020-21. Will this clash in figures cause my application to be automatically disqualified if I am chosen, or will I be given an opportunity to explain the situation?
(2) Given this situation, would there be any benefit in submitting my tax returns from earlier years—for example, 2017-2019—in addition, to 2020-21? Would the Marketing Agent then look at all five tax returns, put 2 and 2 together so to speak, and use the earlier tax returns to estimate my income while ignoring the 2020-21 tax returns?
(3) Would it be possible for me to include a letter along with the requested documents explaining my situation, and if so, would the Marketing Agent read it and take it into consideration?
(4) I have a very high credit score (820). Could this possibly mediate the situation?
(5) Since my situation is probably not uncommon, are my worries unfounded? Are the Marketing Agents used to discounting the relevance of tax returns from the pandemic years and making allowances and adjustments of this sort?
As an independent contractor you can provide proof of payments from your line of business. If you get a 1099 before you get called for a lottery you can show the 1099. In this case paper trails are important. Any receipts of payment would help. I do a little bit of independent contractor work as well... if you use Quickbooks self-employed I think your journal entries of your income and expenses from work can be use. It allows you to record receipts of payment or send invoices to the people you are providing service for. Deposits into checking accounts that reflect on statements might help too.
I think the bottom line is that any independent contractor they deal with will have lost their jobs and lived on unemployment during the lockdown. So my questions must arise over and over again, and I have to assume there must be at least some degree of rationality in how financial records during this period are assessed.
I would be curious if any independent contractors who lived on unemployment during the lockdown have subsequently been selected, and if so, what their experience has been in reconciling their income during those years with the requirements of the lotteries.
I have just been selected! I’ve had success! I am self employed in the performing arts. My business almost completely shut down due to the pandemic. I made this clear in a notarized letter. Then I used my most recent earnings to make a projection. I got letters from my biggest clients stating that I am working for them, and I am important to their operations going forward. I have lots of proof, invoices, bank deposits, receipts, from the last year, and clearly showed my maths for how I go to my projected income. It worked for me! Stick to it, and organize you finances and make a story. If you can’t, maybe try finding an accountant. Good luck, and hang in there. Self employed people have rights too.
That is extremely helpful. Thank you. And congratulations, it must really feel wonderful to win.
Thank you. Yes, it felt amazing because I was unsure about it going into it, but learned a lot about HUD guidelines, laws to protect the self-employed, and fair housing. That helped me make a strong case to my agent of the the "most reasonable" way to calculate my projected income. REASONABLE is the key word. You need evidence to make the reasonable projection, and you need an argument why others methods of projecting your income are not reasonable. Then you need documents to support you. You can do it.
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