Relocating and You Want to Buy a Home?

Relocating to a new home can be an exciting but overwhelming time and one of the most important questions to ask yourself with this decision is “Where will I live?”. But to answer that question, you need to know your options. Option 1, buy a home. Buying should always be option 1! We are also a mortgage company and I really do not know anything outside of mortgages, so it is the only option I am going to talk about. When you are financing a home purchase there is an endless amount of information out there, but this I will try to keep specific to relocating and purchasing with financing. The biggest difference in approving a home buyer who is relocating vs. one who is not all comes down to income.

A new job in a new state is one of the most common scenarios where relocation and purchase occur. Your start date will play a role in your financing. Depending on the loan program, your new position would have to start within 1 - 90 days of your closing date depending on the product (start prior to close is not a problem either). If your new job is starting more than 90 days from when you plan on closing on a new home, that may be a problem when trying to obtain financing. Also, any contingencies of your offer need to be cleared, this is very important. For example, if your employment offer is contingent on a background check, this process will need to be completed and your new employer will need to confirm that the employment offer is no longer subject to contingencies. (I cannot stress enough how important this is)

Relocating for retirement is also a very common thing, especially in our home state of Florida. There are not many roadblocks you will run into related to relocating for this reason. Retirement income is received regardless of where you live.

Relocating to expand a business you own. Less common but kudos to you. The important thing that will be considered is the stability and continuity of your income. Do you have an established business that is by in large operational without the need for you to be on location? If the answer is yes, you are likely good to go. If the answer is no that may be problematic.

Relocating just because you want to. This is where it can be tricky depending on hour you earn your income. Specifically, to income and employment, it all comes down to is your income source stable, consistent, and likely to continue, regardless of the relocation. If you work from home, travel for work across the country (ie. travel nurse), or if you are self-employed with a business that either does not need you on location or functions without a specific location, you are likely ok. But if you are in a position where your current income is dependent on your current location, there may be challenges.

The most important thing to know is that there are considerations when it comes to relocating and financing a purchase, so it is important to have these discussions with someone qualified in the mortgage business so that you are prepared. Every situation is different and there are solutions to many of them. If you want to know more about relocating and purchase a new home and how your specific situation would be handled, please contact us. We will be happy to help.