When people think about the American dream and what success means, owning a home is an integral part of that vision. If you rely on Social Security disability benefits, you may think owning a home will be difficult without having a job. The truth is, you may still be able to get a mortgage with disability benefits as your primary income.
Prequalifying for A Mortgage
If you’re serious about getting a mortgage, the first thing you need to do is check your credit rating and make sure you have everything you need to prequalify. Prequalifying is the first step in getting a mortgage. It’s a chance for lenders to get a clearer idea of your financial situation and look at whether or not you can pay back a mortgage. It will also give you a broad price range of what you will be able to afford when you start shopping for a house.
When the prequalification process starts, the lender will want to see all of your income, including:
- Extra Income - Even if your disability benefits are your primary income, you may have other income you receive each month like alimony payments, benefits from the VA if you’re a veteran or money from a part-time side business. You don’t have to include this extra income, but it will help convince the lenders that you have the income to make your monthly payments.
- Your Investments - You should also include any returns from investments that you receive or annuity payments.
- Your Social Security Benefits - Since your Social Security disability benefits are your main income source, you will need documentation that you receive the payments every month, how much they are, and how long you expect to receive them. Most lenders will want to know that you will be getting benefits for at least another three years.
Verifying Your SSD Income
Verifying your disability benefits is easy. All you need to do is get a copy of your benefit award statement, which you can download or print from your SSA account. You can also call or visit your local SSA office and request that a copy be mailed to you. Your statement of benefits and your bank records showing direct deposits from the SSA is usually enough to verify your SSD income.
Documentation
You will also need to document the other income that you receive. A court order or divorce decree that spells out your alimony amount and the amount of time you will receive it, bank statements, and tax returns are all documents that you should have available to submit with your prequalification application.
It’s Worth It
The process of getting a mortgage can seem overwhelming because there is so much paperwork involved, but it’s worth the hassle of submitting so much documentation to get you one step closer to getting a mortgage and being able to buy your dream home. If you would like more information on how to get started, give the experts at NASB a call at 888-661-1982 or click here.
