1. The mortgage applicants a credit score that was not scored against FHA’s TOTAL Scorecard (TOTAL), or 
2.  The mortgage applicant received a Refer scoring recommendation from TOTAL, or received an Accept scoring recommendation but was downgraded to a Refer by the underwriter.  When an Accept recommendation is downgraded to a Refer, the loan must be underwritten according to FHA mortgage lenders minimum standards.

MANUAL APPROVAL WITH COMPENSATING FACTORS

Compensating factors. These are simply “good parts that offset the bad parts” in your loan request. Some compensating factors include:

RENTAL HISTORY-  For manual underwrite approval FHA mortgage lenders love to see proof of timely rent payments for the past 12 consecutive months. If you pay by check, then the loan officer will ask for 12 months cancelled rent checks (front and back) If you pay by automatic withdrawal then the loan officer will ask for the past 12 monthly bank statements that show the dates of each rent withdrawal. In addition, FHA mortgage lenders may even have a 3rd party call the landlord or property management company to verbally verify timely payment history as an extra layer of proof (especially in cases where people pay by check but there are significant lags between the check date and the deposit post date).

RESERVES-  For manual underwrite approval FHA mortgage lenders love to see reserves. Reserves is defined as future monthly mortgage payments in your account after closing. money that you’ll have left over after buying or refinancing a home. The best types of reserves are the most liquid (checking, savings, money market accounts). Reserves can also be retirement accounts, stocks, bonds, etc. but you’ll need to prove that you can actually access the money in such accounts (often a 401(k) will have a handbook that stipulates when and how much money any employee can actually withdrawal or borrow from the account– the loan officer will need this handbook if you want to be able to “count” a 401(k) account).

DOWN PAYMENT- For manual underwrite approval FHA mortgage lenders love to see that you have skin on the game. For FHA loans, the minimum down payment is typically 3.5%. If you can put down 10% then not only would this be considered a HUGE “compensating factor”, but also there are multiple benefits regarding when you can cancel FHA mortgage insurance if you put down 10%.

PAYMENT SHOCK- For manual underwrite approval FHA mortgage lenders love to see your new payment inline with your current rental history. Whether you rent or own right now, if you can prove that you’ve been capable of making such a payment on time for the past 12 months AND the new proposed payment is not much larger than your current monthly housing payment, then this is a HUGE compensating factor because it proves that you’ve been capable of handling this payment range over the past 12 months without being late. Here is a trick to “count” this as a compensating factor EVEN IF your new proposed monthly payment will be significantly higher: Take a look installment loan such as auto loans. If, perhaps, your new housing payment was going to increase from $700 in rent to $1,100 per month for the mortgage and you have a $400 monthly car payment that is almost paid off, then point that out! Essentially, you have proven that between the rent and the vehicle loan, you’ve been paying $1,100 on time each month, and if that vehicle payment only has a few months left then there is no reason that the (now paid off) vehicle shouldn’t allow you to now handle the $400 increase in your housing payment. This is something that often loan officers even forget to analyze and point out.

INCOME – For manual underwrite approval FHA mortgage lenders love to see Income that can not be “counted” for underwriting purposes.There is typically income that can’t be “counted” for underwriting purposes, but may be considered a “compensating factor”. Examples of such income can include child support or alimony that is received, but not always on time or for the full amount ordered by the judge, non-borrowing spouse income (a spouse that is not on the loan, but has a job), income from a second job (typically you can’t “count” income from a second job unless you’ve had it for at least two years), or self-employed income that has not been received for two years. Use your imagination to come up with additional compensating factors after reading these examples.

Job stability and /or likelihood for future wage increases.Mortgage FHA mortgage lenders love it when employees have worked for the same employer for a long time, as they generally much less likely to be fired or laid off and more likely to receive raises. Additionally, mortgage underwriters actually consider the company and industry that your employer is in. A small independent medical insurance brokerage is less likely to be in business and retaining their employees than a company that’s made the Dow 30 index (such as Boing, General Electric, AT&T, etc.).

NON TRADITIONAL CREDIT HISTORY- For manual underwrite approval FHA mortgage lenders love to see  “non-traditional” credit accounts to be added to the credit report to show timely payment history for at least 12 months. For no credit score home loan approvals these nontraditional credit history are r required.  If the borrower has less than three accounts with a 12-month history of timely payments, then many underwriters will require that the borrower document timely payments on other bills. The best types of accounts are “housing-related accounts”, such as utilities, renters insurance, cable TV, internet, etc. Other acceptable accounts can include auto or home insurance payments, mobile phone, storage unit, etc.The idea is to gather more data to determine a given borrower’s willingness/ability to make timely payments. Again, this only applies to borrowers that have very few accounts that show up on their credit reports.

Keep in mind that if you are facing a manual underwrite, it’s usually due to poor credit or a high debt-to-income ratio. Most FHA mortgage lenders will want to see a housing ratio (mortgage payment + mortgage insurance + home insurance + property taxes + homeowners association dues on a monthly basis) / (gross monthly income) around 31% and your debt-to-income ratio (“DTI”) at 43% or less (this is the same calculation except your “debt” includes all other payments such as minimum credit card payments, auto loans, personal loans, child support due, etc.). Many FHA mortgage lenders that offer manually underwrite loans will not budge on these ratios, but some will. Generally, with compensating factors, you can get a manually underwrite loan approved with a housing ratio of up to 35% and a DTI ratio of up to 48% at the most, and these FHA mortgage lenders are tough to find.

Elaborate explanations regarding any and all derogatory credit accounts, bankruptcies, or foreclosures. Effort COUNTS on such letters, so don’t try to cut any corners. Put some time into these letters, proofread them, and the “effort factor” WILL count for something. Typically a manual underwriting is a result of a poor credit history, so this will most likely apply to you if you are facing a manual underwrite.

MANUAL UNDERWRITING

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