Wondering what it takes to qualify for a mortgage loan in 2014? You’ve come to the right place. This website offers a wealth of information about mortgage qualifications and requirements for 2014. It’s an educational resource for any consumer who is shopping for a home loan.
The mortgage industry has changed dramatically over the last few years. It has gone from one extreme to the other, and is now somewhere in the middle.
In the early to mid 2000s, mortgage qualification criteria in the U.S. were fairly lax. Those were the days when almost anyone could qualify for a home loan. But then came the mortgage and housing collapse. In the wake of that crisis, lenders increased their standards across the board. Mortgage qualifications and criteria rose significantly. Suddenly, it was a lot harder to qualify for a loan.
Today, in 2014, we are finally seeing signs of easing within the industry. A return to normalcy, if you will. Mortgage qualification requirements will never revert back to the “anything goes” days of the housing boom (nor should we hope for that). New lending rules have been put in place to prevent such a thing. But it does seem to be getting easier for well-qualified borrowers to obtain financing. These are positive trends, and you can learn all about them on our website.
So, how do you qualify for a mortgage loan? If you have a decent credit score (read “north of 600?), a manageable level of household debt, steady income, and a down payment of at least 3.5%, you can probably get a home loan in 2014. We will talk more about each of these qualifications below. Just know they are not set in stone. There are exceptions to most rules and standards within the lending industry.
Mortgage qualifications and requirements in 2014 are heavily influenced by a new set of lending rules. Every consumer who is in the market for a home loan should have a basic understanding of these rules. Collectively, they are setting the bar for mortgage qualification standards in the U.S.
1. The Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule is designed to create safer home loans. “Safer,” in this context, means they cannot have any of the high-risk that were common during the housing boom. For instance, QM prohibits “negative amortization” scenarios where the loan balance actually grows over time. It also limits balloon loans and interest-only payments, other that are risky for borrowers. It limits borrowers to having a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio no higher than 43%. Want to know how to qualify for a mortgage loan in 2014? Take a look at the QM rule. It will set the bar for lending standards in the U.S.
2. The Ability-to-Repay (ATR) rule, as its name suggests, requires lenders to ensure that the borrower has sufficient income and/or ets to repay the loan. It’s not enough to say how much you earn. You must prove it by providing certain financial records (bank statements, tax returns, W-2 forms and the like). To qualify for a home loan, you must be able to do ent your income. Few exceptions are made to this rule.
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