FHA Mortgages and how they view Trade Union Income
When applying for a mortgage, showing employment stability is crucial to obtaining a mortgage approval. Members of Trade Unions, such as Carpenters, Plumbers, Masons, or Electricians often work for several different companies over the course of a year and as a result have several W2 forms. For a someone who is not a member of a Trade Union, having several different W2s as part of your mortgage application would indicate an erratic and unstable job history. Unless it can be documented that each new job has resulted in an increase in pay, the FHA generally frowns upon more than three job changes with the last 12 months. The FHA does not require this continuous pay increase if the applicant is a member of a Trade Union.
For a member of a Trade Union having multiple W2s over a 12 month period is not a problem at all.
When gathering income documents for a Trade Union member we would verify the following…
All W2 forms received for the last two calendar years
A copy of the Union card showing membership
A printout from the Union showing all jobs assigned during the last twelve months.
Being part of a Trade Union helps FHA borrowers meet the employment stability requirement. This also allows Union members to have seasonal unemployment not reflect as a negative as many trades are seasonally unemployed during the winter months.
