Before you qualify for a home loan, mortgage lenders will want to verify how much money you make and ensure that your income is stable before you buy the dream home you’ve been wanting!
A written verification of employment (WVOE) is a typical mortgage requirement whereby the lender requests a form be completed by the borrower's current and/or previous employers to ascertain and verify specific details about their employment such as dates of hire and termination as well as compensation structure (salary, bonus, commissions) and year to date earnings.
It is important to verify your gross income so mortgage lenders can calculate “front-end” and “back-end” debt ratios.
The front-end ratio compares your mortgage payments with your gross income, while the back-end ratio takes into consideration all of your monthly loan payments in comparison to your gross income.
By calculating these debt ratios, mortgage lenders can determine whether you’ll be able to pay off your mortgage without any likely issues.
As part of the employment verification process, lenders also want to know your personal job outlook. In this case, they may ask your employer to confirm that you’re likely to sustain your position. Many times, it is hard for lenders to get in touch with employers to confirm the necessary details. So, to help the process along, try to communicate as openly as possible with both your mortgage lender and your employer to get the right documentation delivered correctly.
Typically, lenders will want to verify your employment status long before you close on a home. It’s usually done as part of the loan underwriting process. However, additional WVOE checks are made before closing. If you’ve recently lost your job or appear to be at risk of losing your current job, a bad report could affect the deal.
Click here to learn more about employment verification, how long it takes, how to provide employment verification if you're self-employed, and what you can do if you can't get a verification.
Have questions? Feel free to reach out to our EHL Home Loan Experts. We're here to help make the mortgage process as stress-free as possible!