About a month ago, we talked about how frustrating it was to qualify self-employed borrowers for a mortgage, even if they had great credit and big cash reserves.
Some of you compared the experience for borrowers to receiving a colonoscopy.
But things are starting to look up.
Let's start with the most obvious reason: mass vaccinations are here, and it's a game-changer for many self-employed borrowers. Their businesses aren't exactly back to normal, but it's approaching normal-ish. One LO told me that one of his clients, a dentist, gave up on a second-home purchase because of all the red tape and the loss of business. But with the mass vaccination wave, he's booked solid through the end of the summer and revenue is back to pre-pandemic levels. He's thinking about that second house again, the LO told me.
Lenders also feel a lot more comfortable with non-conforming loans, and I don't just mean non-QM specialists. United Wholesale Mortgage has a jumbo product expected to hit in the first quarter, and Rocket Mortgage just offered up a new jumbo product this week, called "Jumbo Smart." Rocket says the new product allows significantly more borrowers to qualify than a traditional jumbo product, and that loans go up to $2 million and even include secondary homes and investment properties.
But let's hear from you, LOs: are things getting better with regard to self-employed borrowers? As always, hit me up anonymously at jkleimann@housingwire.com.
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