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Title seasoning for a Fannie Mae refinance.

Property purchased in 2003 in my name only. I got married in 2015. We are refinancing our 1st and HELOC. My spouse has a higher credit score and makes more $$ than I do. I am are being told my credit score has to be used because there is a 6 month seasoning requirement for my spouse to be on title. We have been married almost 3 years. Doesn't that count as seasoning on the property? by Debhultz884 from , California. Jan 25th 2018 Reply


Larry Goodrow (larry_goodrow@yahoo.com)
#1062 ranked lender in California - 22 contributions

it depends how long has she lived there with you? if its Fannie Mae it tougher but I could go FHA and get the ash out to pay the HELOC, regardless if she was on title before or not we can use herlet me know

Jan 25th 2018
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Mike Cuervo (mike@loansbynorthstar.com)
#1323 ranked lender in California - 8 contributions

Fannie and Freddie take the lower of the 2 scores.

Jan 25th 2018
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Shane Milne (ShanetheMortgageMan)
#857 ranked lender in California - 16 contributions

Hi Deb, if the HELOC was taken out after you purchased the home, then if you refinance and pay it off, it would be considered a cash-out refinance with Fannie Mae financing. You can read Fannie Mae guidelines on cash out refinances at https://www.fanniemae.com/content/guide/selling/b2/1.2/03.html. One of the requirements is "The property must have been purchased (or acquired) by the borrower at least six months prior to the disbursement date of the new mortgage loan" so if you aren't going on the new mortgage, then your spouse would need to be on title for 6 months prior to closing on the cash out refinance. There are exceptions (inheritance, purchased the home with cash, owned by an LLC or trust).If the HELOC was used to purchase the home, then refinancing and paying it off would not be a cash out refinance and would be what is referred to as a "rate & term" refinance and then no seasoning would be required (those guidelines can be found at https://www.fanniemae.com/content/guide/selling/b2/1.2/02.html).

Jan 25th 2018
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William J Acres (William_Acres)
#74 ranked lender in Arizona - 8,728 contributions

Your lender is correct.. the seasoning requirement if you are going to refinance in your spouse's name only would be 6 months.. however, if you are both on the loan, the it's not an issue.. however, lending guidelines will use the lowest mid score of all borrowers for loan pricing.. so if you are on the loan, and you have the lower score, then the overall loan will be priced based on your score.. There's really no way around this.. Someone else suggested you can go FHA, and that's true, but ALL FHA loans have mortgage insurance.. regardless of your loan to value.. on the conventional side, there will be no MI.. since you are capped at 80% LTV or lower on cash out refi's.. The net result is that although the FHA rate will be lower, the overall payment is likely to be higher once you factor in the FHA MI.. A word of advise,,, Rates have steadily risen over the past 3 weeks straight.. and there's no end in sight.. if you are contemplating a cash out refi, you should get in right away and lock your loan now because it's probably going to get worse. I'm a preferred Lender with California and Arizona being my primary markets. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com NMLS# 226347 / RPM Mortgage NMLS 1541014 / AZMB0121893

Jan 26th 2018
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