Waiting Period to a Buy House after Moving?

I am a professor in New York and relocating to another academic position in Oregon. My old job ends August 15 and the new one begins August 15.

We have sold our house in New York, but have not closed yet. We have found a home we want to purchase in Oregon and are pre-qualified.

Now the mortgage company we are talking with about purchasing the home says we need to have a pay stub from the new employer for a full month before we can get a loan.

My new employer has sent the loan office an official letter stating the salary and other pertinent information. Our last move did not require us to wait to buy house until I was working for a month. Is this some new stipulation?

Does everyone really rent for this one month? It seems unreasonable that families can't buy home to move into before they arrive in a new place.

Please advise.

======ANSWER======

Hello Professor,

Thanks for stopping by my site and leaving a question. This is a good one. I really enjoy meeting new people online and helping them.

As I think about your situation, I find this requirement from your lender very strange. Somebody (likely the underwriter) needs to get their head straighten out.

For years I worked with borrowers all over the USA closing mortgages. I once worked for a large national lender. Sadly I do not any more.

In the past, what underwriters would look for during a move, especially with an out of state transfer is this. They want to see if it is in the same line of work, the salary would be equal to or greater than the previous one.

So in your situation, since you are already qualified, I would ask for an "exception" since this is really not reasonable. Or you may want to look for a different lender.

Even though you are not a first time home buyer, you could use someone like the the choices available to you in the upper right corner of this page under the picture "mortgage application". Filling out this online form will put you in touch with 4 different lenders all competing for your business.

If you explain your situation to these lenders, they will bend over backwards for you. They have to work hard to get the business done.

The letter you have from your new employer should work just fine. You will not have to rent for one month, that is a major waste of time and money. Most lenders understand this.

Just do not give up. You'll get this done. After all, I'm sure all the other parts or your mortgage process is done. I'm sure you have the credit, down payment and we both know you have the employment. You just have to find an underwriter that understands. They can bend this rule if you work at it.

My other thought is, if you must use your current lender, why not ask the seller of the house you are buying to do a short term rental contract to give you the month or so to get the pay stubs. I personally feel this should not be necessary, but this may be an option for you.

I hope you find this helpful.

Best Regards,

Jeffrey Ragan