When you apply for a refinance, debt consolidation or purchase mortgage, one of the most important factors in qualifying for the loan is your income. That may not seem like much of a surprise, but you may be surprised at all of the different ways your income can be calculated based on how well you can document it, and how much this can affect your loan process. Get a leg up on the loan officer and learn how to determine your income yourself.
Your lender looks at your income on the basis of how well you can document it, and will allow you to borrow more money at lower rates the more you can document your income. If you have been in your job for a while and have years of W2 statements, IRS filings, and bank statements you probably fall into the Full Documentation or Full Docs basket. Typically you can borrow the most money as a percentage of the propertys value with a full doc income verification.
If you are on a salary and you get two checks a month, take the gross amount before taxes on your check and multiply by 2. Thats it, thats your income (of course youll need to present a little bit more documentation to the lender!).
If you get paid once every two...