MCP Help Blog

In today’s economic turmoil, people are changing jobs and residences faster than NASCAR crews change tires. So how does that affect your ability to get a new home once you’ve found that new job? It depends.
The standard for most lenders has traditionally been requiring a two-year work history. Not necessarily with the same company but in the same industry.  However two year work histories  can look very different–Ms. Mature took a part time internship in college, graduated and was given a full-time job with her company. Her income increased steadily. She took a better-paying job with a different company in the same industry (which happens to be Internet marketing, a booming field). So the fact that she’s only been in her field for a year and a half full-time and at her new job for 3 months probably won’t hinder her chances at getting that mortgage.

Now, let’s take a look at her “fun-loving” roommate from college.  This woman also worked while getting through college–delivering pizza and barely graduating. She continued to deliver pizza for another six months until landing a job in office supply sales. After a few months, she quit that job and took a new one as a receptionist. She has a few strikes against her–first, her work history is spotty because she quits her job every few months. Second, the new jobs don’t offer additional opportunity or more money. Third, even though she has a college degree, her choice of employment looks more like a job happing spree than a career path. Party Girl looks less responsible, more likely to find herself unemployed, and less likely to take care of the business of owning a home.

FHA doesn’t have a specific time requirement for your job or career at all. But again, if it’s your first job and you’ve been there three weeks you will need some really good qualifications–like a medical degree perhaps. FHA also considers your savings habits, credit, and other factors though, so employment is not the hard-and-fast criterion that it is with many other lenders.

And most underwriters also look at the industry you work in (flourishing or failing?) and even the actual company (so you probably don’t want to go to work for AIG right about now).