Just refinanced and now need to move due to job loss? Can I rent my home?

this is more like a legal question. I am not an attorney so this is not a legal advise. As far as I know if you closed on primary residence you have to occupy the property no later than 60 days after closing and reside at the property for at least one year. So I don't see anything to worry about in your particular case in terms of occupancy.

Although I am not an attorney, the general answer to your question is no. The standard mortgage states that you will occupy your residence within 60 days and will reside in the home as your primary residence for at least one year. You have obviously fulfilled your obligation per your mortgage. You can confirm by speaking with a real estate attorney as the state of Illinois is an attorney state when it comes to real estate. Happy Holidays.

NO you would not be violating any law

If you knew at the time of the refinance that you will no longer in the primary resident and you de-frauded the lender by not disclosing that, you could have faced huged penalties, but since at the time of the application you had no knowldege of the future and as long as you have liginimate reason for your move, there shouldn't be anything for you to worry about.

You will not have an issue. You did not lie of your intentions at the time you refinanced, therefore there is no need for you to contact the lender. Regarding the insurance you may want to leave your current policy in place and simply remove the personal property except for appliances and HVAC unit. Unfortunately, the lender will not change anything on your loan one way or another. I understand your want to keep things kosher. But with the economy the way it is they are truly only concerned with the payments being made on time. You may however want to notify them to send statements etc to your new address. Secondly, be sure to notify the tax recorders office of the address change same goes for the insurance company. Other than that you are okay to do what you see fit with your home as long as payments are being made on time. The day you decide to refinance again, you will have to declare the property as non-owner occupied.

Fraud occurs when a borrower lies or provides false information on their loan application. If this was your primary residence when you did the refinace and your intent AT THAT TIME was to remain in the home for at least another year, and now circumstances have changed such that you need to move and wnat to convert it to a rental property, that is NOT fraud. Even if there was a chance that circumstances would change before the year is up, no problem. As long as you keep making the payments and don't change or cancel your homeowners' insurance, there should be no problem.