This week, a client contacted me about buying a home this summer. She will graduate from law school in May and has a job offer from a large law firm she worked for this past summer. She will not start the job until September after taking the bar exam. She has young children, so she would like to complete the purchase and move into the house in the summer before the children start school and she begins her new job. She wanted to know if there was an option to use her future salary to qualify for a home purchase before she started her job.

Qualifying for a Home Purchase

Fortunately, I had a positive answer for her. Freddie Mac allows borrowers starting new employment commencing after the settlement date to use their future salary as long as:

• The job starts no more than 90 days after the close date
• The employment offer is noncontingent
• The employment offer includes start date and salary
• The client has reserves for each month between the settlement and start dates.

Using Future Income

The underwriting guideline can also be used for a salary increase. I recently closed a loan for an FBI agent who was relocating from the West Coast to the DC office. He was getting a promotion and pay increase. We were able to use his future income for qualifying purposes since he was starting his new position 45 days after closing.

Please contact me if you want to discuss your specific situation.