As far as getting a loan, my situation is probably not the typical scenario. Of all the good things I have going for myself, a recent steady work history is not one of them. Which for some reason is important to lenders. Even with great credit and a good sized down payment, I knew a typical mortgage was not going to happen for me.
I set-up an appointment with a mortgage broker to see what options I had. I knew going in that I would be paying higher interest than a person who earned their money by going to work everyday. As it was explained to me, with my current situation, I basically had three options 1) a no document loan where the lender doesn’t ask too many questions and I pay a high rate 2) a low document loan, not as high a rate but the lender asks my employeer some questions (hopefully not how much I make or how much I work) 3) a home equity loan, rate based on the amount of the loan and my credit score. I went for option #3 and was able to get a loan for 80% of the value of my house.
