Fannie Mae Income Worksheet: Fill & Download for Free

I’ll assume that you intend to buy a residential income property of four or fewer units.You can buy an investment property with 20% down, but you’ll get a far better rate with 25% down. The $5,000 smaller down payment would lead to a rate roughly .25% higher than with a 25% down payment.You should also allow for closing costs. Among these are title, escrow and (possibly) lawyer fees, depending on your state’s customs. You’ll pay for other one-time fees such as appraisal, notary, recording and lender underwriting and processing.These fees are collectively referred to as nonrecurring closing costs. You will also have to deal with prorations and prepaids. These include your first year’s insurance premium, prorated interest, and initial deposit to your impound account for taxes and insurance, if you decide to have one.I can’t tell you what those fees are likely to be in your state, but here in California, a buyer can expect to pay around $6,000 in total closing costs for a property of that value. Your loan officer can prepare a closing cost worksheet for you to get a better idea of the costs ahead of time. (Pro tip: don’t ask for a “Good Faith Estimate.” That document no longer exists)In addition, you may be required to document additional cash reserves after closing. The number of other properties you own will determine the amount required. For 1–4 financed properties, Fannie Mae requires reserves of 2% of the total unpaid balance of all financed properties.Finally, you should keep in mind that operating rental property is as much a business as it is an investment. You definitely should have money available to deal with the unexpected expenses and any prolonged vacancy.I hope this is useful. Good luck!

Getting a home loan when you are self-employed doesn’t need to be difficult, as long as your lender understands self-employed guidelines and how to satisfy them.What Documentation do I Need?!Individual Tax Returns (1040) for Previous Two YearsBusiness Tax Returns (1065, 1120, 1120s) for Previous Two YearsThe only documents needed to calculate self-employed income are your tax returns. If you claim your income on Schedule C - you will not have business tax returns and only your personal returns will be needed. In some cases you will only need one year of personal and business tax returns. The documentation needed to qualify a self-employed borrower is actually less than the documentation needed to qualify a wage earning borrower.How is my Income Calculated?!Fannie Mae uses the following worksheet to determine your self-employed income.Essentially, your total self-employed income is either averaged over 12 months (one year) or 24 Months (two years) - typically, whichever calculation is more conservative. If you made less in 2015 than 2016, you’re income would be averaged over 24 months. If you made less in 2016 than 2015 your income would be averaged over 12 months.What Other Factors are Considered for Self-Employed Income?!The following factors must be analyzed before approving a mortgage for a self-employed borrower:the stability of the borrower’s income,the location and nature of the borrower’s business,the demand for the product or service offered by the business,the financial strength of the business, andthe ability of the business to continue generating and distributing sufficient income to enable the borrower to make the payments on the requested mortgage.Self-Employed borrowers should not be discouraged from applying for a mortgage loan. Work with a reputable lender who knows how to underwrite and qualify self-employed borrowers and you will be fine!

Generally, no. In my area, there is a lender who is advertising heavily that consumers should submit applications to two or more lenders, then play the two against each other at the time of funding. This lender would presumably shave their pricing at the last minute to edge out the other lender(s) who would presumably not be aware that the borrower was “double apping” them.This practice is viewed negatively by most lenders, for obvious reasons. The cost of originating and underwriting a loan is not trivial. A lender processes a loan application in good faith, and when a borrower reveals at the last minute that they have applied to another lender concurrently, the lender is still be on the hook for those considerable costs.Under the current regulations, it is not possible for a loan officer to reduce his or her compensation to give a borrower a lower rate or fees. A branch, however, may be able to give a “branch concession,” where they earn less on a given loan. This is sometimes done to offset some unexpected fee to a borrower, such as a second appraiser that may be called for by the investor.The margins in mortgage banking are not as large as some may think. The fundamental business model is to originate and underwrite the loan, then fund it using a specialized line of credit called a “warehouse line.” After funding, the lender sells the loan to an investor, such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae. They will sell the loan for more than the amount of the loan itself. The investor will get its desired return over a longer time, as the borrower repays the loan with interest.From the sale proceeds, the lender pays off the warehouse line, thus freeing up that money to make another loan. It pays its overhead and other expenses, such as salaries and commissions to loan originators. When all the dust settles, the lender will earn a small profit.Mortgage lenders do not care what the rates are. They will earn the same net margin on the loans they sell regardless. The important things to keep in mind are that “lenders” (mortgage bankers and broker) don’t hold loans. The second is that margins are not particularly great.I agree with most (but not quite all) of what Jillayne Schlicke wrote in her answer. The single most important part of getting a mortgage is…getting the mortgage. A lender may quote an irresistibly low rate, but if they can’t perform in a reasonable time, it is all for naught.The one area where I disagree with what she wrote has to do with a document called the Loan Estimate. This is a legal document that binds the lender with regard to certain fees—but it does not guarantee the rate listed on the document.Lenders are required by law to provide a Loan Estimate (LE) within three business days of receiving an “Application.” This is specifically defined as the lender’s having received six critical pieces of information:Borrower’s nameSocial Security numberBorrower’s incomeProperty AddressLoan amountEstimated value of the propertyPrior to receiving those six items, the “application” is a “credit inquiry,” and the lender does not have to issue a Loan Estimate.When we do issue a Loan Estimate, we are bound to certain fees, specifically including these:Loan origination fees (processing, underwriting, etc.)Title and escrow feesAppraisal feesRecording and notaryReal estate transfer taxesThese are referred to as “zero tolerance items.” If a loan officer lists an incorrect number on the LE, the branch will have to do a “tolerance cure;” they’ll have to cover the difference.The intent of the LE is to give consumers an opportunity to rate shop before committing. There are some problems with the execution, however.The first is that lenders do not issue LEs frivolously. A consumer cannot simply call a lender and say, “Gimme an LE.” Although the six critical pieces of information comprising an “Application” can be conveyed orally, few consumers are interested in turning over their Social Security number to a large number of strangers over the telephone. Fewer consumers are willing to allow a number of lenders to pull their credit reports based on a phone call.Generating the LE involves not only listing the lender’s own fees and current rates, but also other fees for a proposed transaction, such as title and escrow fees. This may involve coordinating with the title company and other involved third-party vendors.The second problem is that rates change every day based on the activity in the market. The loans the lenders sell to investors like Fannie Mae are pooled into a type of bond called a Mortgage Backed Security (MBS). When the price of the MBS goes up, rates go down because lenders can get a higher price for their funded loans. Recent activity in the MBS market looks like this:The green bars represent days when the MBS price increased, and rates improved. The small bond rally we experienced between March 4 and March 8 represents an improvement of about .125% in rate.Because of this normal market volatility—and it can be extreme at times in either direction—a rate quote from a week ago is likely to be obsolete today.A better way to research where lenders fall within the pricing spectrum is to know how to ask the question. You should know your credit score, price range, type of loan and property and approximate down payment you plan to make. Each one of these factors affects the loan’s pricing.You could ask the question like this:“I want to buy a condo for $300,000 with a 20% down payment. My credit score is over 740. What is your rate today for that loan? What are your processing and underwriting fees?”In order for the information to be useful, you should get these quotes over as short a time period as possible. You will likely find some variation between lenders, but keep in mind that none of what they tell you is binding on them until you have submitted an application and asked them to lock your rate.With all that said, I’ll point out that getting a mortgage is a process, not a commodity that you pull off the shelf. The loan officer and his or her team is critical to the experience you’ll have. As you speak with different lenders, ask yourself whether the loan officer you speak with is someone who inspires your confidence. Do they answer your questions in plain language? Are they accessible by phone, text and email?Although a Loan Estimate has limited usefulness during any “shopping” phase of your process, you can get something in writing—it’s an unofficial document variously called a “closing cost worksheet” or “closing cost estimate.” It should give you a listing of expected costs for the transaction you specify.With all that said, I’ll go back to my observation that getting a mortgage is a process. Although you may be able to get a lower rate from one of the heavily-advertised “call center” mortgage companies, you should ask yourself whether your interests would be better served by working with a local lender who returns your calls, texts and emails promptly. If you are considering the purchase of a property, keep in mind also that sellers want to know that your financing has been preapproved. Although getting a preapproval letter from any lender is trivially easy, agents representing sellers often like to speak directly to the loan officer who issued the preapproval. A local lender is always preferable to one located out of state. In a competitive market, where multiple buyers compete to buy the same property, having a credible local lender can be the difference between getting your offer accepted and having it passed over in favor of a different buyer.I realized I covered a lot more territory than what you asked for, but I hope this has all been useful.Good luck!