Using Part Time Income to Qualify for a Mortgage

Part time income can be very helpful in adding extra money to the household budget but sometimes this extra money does not get fully counted by a lender when qualifying for a mortgage. Lenders want to see consistency and stability with income sources.  Part time income of less than two years can be used when qualifying for a Conventional mortgage approval as long as it meets certain criteria. The key is that this part time income shows some consistency and that it has been received for a minimum of one year.

Part Time Income received for less than 24 months can be used under the following circumstances…  

• There are several different part time employers, each with a job length of less than two years. This is fine as long as the income has been consistently received. 

• There was previously a full time job, held for at least two years, that ended due to reasons such as layoff or illness. Now there is employment in multiple part time jobs that are similar in hours and earnings, when combined, to the previous full time job. 

• The part time job is consistent with the profession.  For example, a teacher taught summer school last year and is now starting summer school again.