Tips for Buying Your First Home in Las Vegas

If you're a first-time home buyer, it's easy to imagine why you'd want to settle down in Las Vegas. It's a family-friendly town, with diverse art and cultural experiences. Tourism and entertainment industries offer exciting opportunities for work and play. When you tour Las Vegas homes for sale, you'll see traditional and contemporary styles with mountain views and desert-inspired landscapes.

Our real estate agents understand that you may be relocating due to a job transfer or career change. Some employment transitions may preclude you from getting mortgage approval, while others won't. To help you understand home-buying obstacles and solutions, we offer our First-Time Buyers Guide: Buying a Home with a New Job.

Employment Consistency

Your work and income history are important to the mortgage financing process. The company researching your application will want to know everything about the way you earn your income.

• Work history: confirmation that you've been employed consistently for at least 24 months
• Income: full-time, part-time, hourly, salaried, commissioned, self-employed earnings
• Stability: W-2s to verify annual income, pay stubs for prior thirty-days earnings, two years tax records for self-employment or business income

It's best not to make any job changes during the mortgage approval process and prior to your closing. Even if you have a high credit score, a change in employment status may cause doubt in your ability to pay. If a job change is unavoidable, you may still be able to overcome employment concerns.

Waged, Salaried, Commissioned

When you change jobs just prior to or during the home-buying process, your earnings will appear consistent if you have the same or similar job duties and income structure. Mortgage companies get concerned when a change in the way you're paid makes your income less predictable.

• Salaried: earn a stated income regardless of hours worked
• Waged: paid an hourly rate
• Commissioned: earn only if you sell
• Self-employed: earnings contingent on your personal success

If your new job moves you from a predictable salaried job to a less predictable commissioned one, your mortgage company may require more verification. Letters from your employer guaranteeing your job and confirming salary consistency might help overcome the doubts.

Self-employed Earnings

If you are self-employed and making a consistently adequate income, mortgage companies require two years of tax records to qualify you for a home loan. If you are newly self-employed, you won't have that track record. Even with a strong prior income history, you won't be able to prove your ability to pay. You'll probably have to postpone home-buying until you have the required income history.

Employment Gaps

A mortgage company focuses on stability and consistency. Employment gaps are an inconsistent no-no. You may still qualify if your employment gaps are reasonable, explainable, and accompanied by documentation confirming your earnings capacity.

• Return from layoff: to the same job, hours, and wages/salary
• Position with the same company: same or similar duties and income
• Military commitments: return after active duty
• Employment within the same field: same duties, income, and salary structure

Loan Guarantee Programs

Despite a problematic job history, you may still qualify for a mortgage under government programs. They offer reduced credit requirements, lower interest rates, and lower down payment requirements.

• Federal Housing Authority - may be flexible on required two-year work history.
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - approve you without two years of consistent employment.
• Veterans Administration - Qualified veterans can receive zero-down VA loans, with limited closing costs.

Let Us Help

If you've recently changed jobs, you may still qualify for home financing. Contact Wardley Real Estate when you're buying or selling a home in our local communities. Learn more about living in Las Vegas in our Las Vegas Real Estate Guide.