Stated Income, Verified Asset
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SIVA doc types are available to a wide variety of borrowers with poor to excellent credit. The minimum credit score is typically 500 and, in most cases, the mortgage history can reflect no worse than a 90 day late payment on their mortgage. These parameters will vary from lender to lender. However, what is always true is that the higher the credit scores and the better the mortgage history, the higher the Loan to Value ratios can be and the more an individual can borrow against their property.
SIVA doc types also have different parameters for the verification of assets. In most cases a lender will verify that a borrower has two months of the monthly PITI payment (Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance) in reserves. However, for higher loan amounts or specialty programs that requirement can go as high as six months of reserves. In a few cases, the reserves may be based not on the PITI payment but on the monthly income stated on the application.
Borrowers must also be able to verify they have some source of income based on their status:
- Self-Employed - The most common way to show a source of income is a current business license. However, in cases where borrowers do not have a business license they must provide the lender with a letter from their Certified Public Accountant which vouches for the borrowers ability to generate earnings as the CPA has prepared their taxes in the past.
- Stated-Wage Earners - The official title for salaried individuals who cannot presesnt W2's or pay check stubs. A Verification of Employment (VOE) must still be sent to the borrower's place of employment, where an authorized agent of the employer must verify the borrower is gainfully employed but is not asked to disclose any compensation information.
- Fixed-Income - In some cases individuals who are receiving some sort of stipend, such as Social Security, Disability or pensions, are able to qualify for SIVA programs. Lender criteria may vary, but in many cases it amounts to a benefit letter from the payor being provided to the lender which outlines the type of benefit paid. In this letter the amount is either not included or blacked out by the borrower.