The Right Way

A couple of weeks ago, we got some news that Patrick's place of employment would be making some cutbacks due to going over budget and that they would be laying people off. When Patrick originally got the job, it was supposed to be a 4 month project, so he didn't think he would be there past July, so this came as no suprise. He ended up getting laid off, but was assured that he'd have a spot reserved for him when the project restarted in January.
I got the call this morning, that our closing was scheduled for Friday. I was elated, but still a little uneasy for fear that Patrick's recent unemployment might become an issue. A friend told me a while back that lenders often requested another Verification of Employment a couple of days before the closing. I was hoping that they wouldn't do a second one, but my hopes were dashed when I received a phone call from Chase this morning asking to speak to my supervisor. I knew we were busted. A little while later, I got the call from our loan officer, Stephanie. She received an email from the underwriter that Patrick was no longer employed at Cadell Construction and that they needed verification of his employment by mid-day on Thursday.
We had a two options: we could lie or we could tell the truth. We decided to tell the truth. Yes, there was a possibility that we could say that Patrick was working for a friend or family member full-time, but neither one of us felt good about that. I told our loan officer that he was doing some contracted work for his step-dad and was also doing hourly work for his friend. After going over the details, we decided to take another approach.

When we originally set up the loan, I was going to be the only one listed on the loan. However, when we chose to do a 100% financing loan through USDA, they included Patrick as the co-borrower. To qualify for a USDA loan, your houshold income can not exceed $74,050. (This is the maximum for most areas in the state of Alabama.) We decided the best thing to do would be to take him off the loan completely. Stephanie said she would tell the underwriter that Patrick had gone back to being self-employed and we would try to submit using my name only. That's the scoop and she's supposed to keep me posted.

As sad as I would be if things didn't work out with this house, I feel very confident that we've done the right thing. I have peace. I know that if we do the right things, God will do right by us. So thats what we're trying to do. It would be terrible to start a fresh new life in a new house, only to know that we had to lie to get it. I'm pretty sure karma would come back and bite in the end.

I'm feeling positive, not defeated. I'm hopeful and know that whatever happens, God is in control.