e. Income from Non-Military Employment (continued)

Verification: Fax and Internet

Fax and Internet documentation may be submitted in place of a VOE if the lender concludes that the applicant’s income is stable, reliable, and anticipated to continue during the foreseeable future; that is, if the applicant’s income qualifies as effective income.

Fax and Internet documentation consists of:

·   The same information contained in a standard Verification of Employment.

·   And they must clearly identify the employer and source of information.

·   Name and telephone number of a person who can verify faxed information.

Lenders are responsible for ensuring the authenticity of the documents.  For Faxed Documents, review the “banner” information provided at the top of each page of the fax.  For Internet documents, review the information contained on any headers/footers and the banner portion of the downloaded webpage(s).  These pages must contain the uniform resource locator (URL) and the date and time printed. The documents should also be reviewed for errors such as incorrect area codes, unreadable names or income, etc.…

Analysis:  General Guidance

Income analysis is not an exact science.  It requires the lender to underwrite each loan on a case by case basis, using:

·   judgment

·   common sense, and

·   flexibility, when warranted.

Analyze the probability of continued employment (that is, whether income is stable and reliable) by examining the

·   applicant’s past employment record

·   applicant’s training, education, and qualifications for his/her position

·   type of employment, and

·   employer’s confirmation of continued employment, if provided.

2 years’ employment in the applicant’s current position is a positive indicator of continued employment.  It is not a required minimum and not always sufficient by itself to reach a conclusion on the probability of continued employment.