Finance industry professional applying for home mortgage

> Does anyone have any suggestions as to the language in the letter I should use to get the underwriter comfortable of my future bonus earnings?

oh boy... just say that:
"as long as GS has DC by the b*lls, the $ should keep on flowing towards the banks and its "professionals"".

as a taxpayer though, he might not feel comfortable reading this.

johnny37 - do you need your bonus income to qualify you for the mortgage? Normally, we need 2 consecutive years of bonus payments received. The underwriter will be looking for a "guaranteed" payment language. Dont think anything else will help especially since you just changed jobs. sunny.hong@bankofamerica.com

shong, can you explain the thinking behind this? Often, when people change jobs in finance, it's with an understanding that bonus will come in at a certain level (even if the current political climate dictates against contractual guarantees.) As a result, the likelihood of bonus at that level can actually be higher than in the job the person left (where there may be no understanding of compensation continuing at the previous level.) It seems that here, as in so many cases, underwriters are taking standards that were developed in a different context and applying them in ways that evince a lack of understanding of the situation.

johndoe, i agree with what youre saying. However, underwriting guidelines always required 2 years evidence bonus was paid and usually a letter from the employer stating that it is "likely to continue." In case someone switches their job, there is no evidence that a bonus income will be received from the new employer (unless there's a guarantee). Therefore, the underwriter would not be able to determine a bonus amount to qualify the borrower. Of course, the bonus may be higher than previous but also it can be lower. There's too much uncertainty. I disagree with a lot of the underwriting guidelines out there and its a battle every day but this is one I somewhat agree with.

"Does anyone have any suggestions as to the language in the letter I should use to get the underwriter comfortable of my future bonus earnings?"

If the truth doesn't cut it, you're obviously not qualified for the mortgage.

Obviously. If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that lenders obviously do a fantastic job of creating underwriting standards to accurately capture the risks of making loans.

Matt, I take it Johnny's not asking how to lie, but how to explain the truth of his situation - I take it from Johnny's post that he's been given strong assurances of a range of bonus, though given where the market is now, he hasn't gotten a guarantee (this is pretty standard these days). Based on these assurances, I'm guessing Johnny is justified in being pretty certain that he'll get paid. Question is how to convey this high level of justified certainty in the context of a presentation to a lender who may not really understand how comp works in finance these days.

I have a feeling this is a joke post... to see how many people will pile on this guy for being a "finance" guy. So, I'll bite - stick a fork in your electrical outlet repeatedly until a tingling sensation overwhelms you. You might like it, it's better than coke, though nobody has ever came back to confirm this....