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Joe and Susan wanted to buy a home in Charlotte. They spoke with a loan officer and began the credit application. Joe had been on his job for just over a year, and Susan almost a year. 

John went on to explain that he had worked for Widgets Inc for 6 years, but got caught up in downsizing. After losing that job, went to work for Wares LTD and has been there for about 14 months. Susan worked for Dr. Bones for 3 years, but when he retired, she went to work for the Miracle Hospital and has been there for 10 months. Their loan application was signed and a closing date was set.

As the processing of the loan got under way, the lender approved the mortgage loan and all that was left was final verification of employment dates. With that done, the excited couple could soon get the keys and move in! But wait… uh oh… we have a small problem.

Duirng the final verification of employment, Widgets Inc reported back that Joe had left in August of 2006. Wares LTD’s records have Joe starting his job with them in Jan 2007. As well, Dr. Bones reported that Susan had left his employment in Feburary of 2007 while Miracle Hospital has a start date of July 2007. So on both accounts we have some serious job gaps!

The loan officer requested clarification from Joe and Susan and they explained… “Yes, we did have a few months in between those jobs. During that time Joe worked through a staffing company until a solid job came and Susan worked at a Nurses on Call company until the Hospital came through.”

When asked why they did not explain this up front, they simply did not think it mattered because they considered the jobs “part time”, held them for just a short time between their “main jobs” and neither of these “part time” jobs were anything they would include on their resume.

At this point, everything with exception of the job times was cleared and ready to go. Since lenders want to ensure that a borrower is still on the job when they close a loan, this is usually one of the last items verified. Needless to say, the brakes got put on the mortgage loan.

With further information and documentation, all employment was finally verified and Joe and Susan closed on their Charlotte home. However, they closed 5 days later than expected and those 5 days were the most frustrating days for everyone involved.

When you are applying for a mortgage loan in Charlotte (or anywhere for that matter), it is important that you disclose all jobs you have had that cover the past 24 months. Even if it is a job that does not seem to fit your resume, give the information to your loan officer. Be prepared to have dates of employment and a reasonable explanation for any job gaps.

Getting the most accurate information up front will make the entire process go much smoother and make your closing happen faster. Leaving out “unimportant” details can actually delay (or in some cases prevent) closings.