Full Time Shoppers, how are you reporting your income to apartments? Are you limited to apartments which allow bank statements in the place of check stubs? Or are you creating a business identity to qualify and inquiring to places that allow it? Something else?

Bear with me, because I've searched for this and found nothing. But to me this gets at the heart of whether Full Time mystery shopping is possible for new shoppers. From comments and outside research, I get the impression Full Time Shoppers are often longterm only shoppers who've had established housing and are likely in retirement or close to it. And from working with Maritz and getting more experience, I get the impression that those shoppers have gotten grandfathered rights with shop preferences coming to them, like self-assigning rights and more offered shops in order to become Full Time in the first place. Maybe, I've been seeing limited info. But, if a transition to Full Time shopping is possible in 2020/2019 from starting anew, I would think this is an easily answered question. And I haven't found it, but am hoping to. Thanks.

Do you mean, how do you report your income in order to qualify for housing?

You'll find the same problem across many platforms, as a self-employed person. Wanna buy a new car? Get a mortgage? You better be prepared to jump through lots and lots of hoops. Like, providing years of your tax returns, keeping you credit rating up above 740 (some say 780), etc., etc., etc.

Yeah, I have no idea what you are talking about.

Reporting Income for Housing: You can generally use your reported taxes.... You might also be able to use bank statements......

Shopping Full Time: It takes time to establish yourself, make contacts, and learn the industry. Nobody can expect to jump in and go "full time" on day one - at least not if they want to be able to support themselves reasonably..... Full time mystery shopping is not for everybody.....

Tax statements and bank deposits are what it sounds like you are looking for. Unfornetunly they will no longer do liar loans for a house anymore. Ah, the Clinton years.

@2stepps wrote:

Tax statements and bank deposits are what it sounds like you are looking for. Unfornetunly they will no longer do liar loans for a house anymore. Ah, the Clinton years.

I don't know what you're talking about. A self-employed individual has always had to provide proof of sufficient income in order to apply for and get a mortgage. Are you saying that the self-employed can no longer buy homes?

Anyway, to answer the OP's question about qualifying to rent an apartment (if that's what he/she is asking). You need your tax returns (minimum two years to buy a home, probably just one to rent an apartment, depending on the specific landlord or management company); a couple months' of bank statements; a YTD P & L statement (depending on how much income you can verify and how long you've been self-employed, they might take one you prepare yourself instead of a professionally prepared one); good credit score (it doesn't need to be over 700, but if any of the other areas are weak, it's better if you do); and a clean criminal record. Many of your better places require a criminal background check, but not all.

Not all places will require all of those things, but the fewer of them you're asked for if you're self-employed full time, the less likely you may be to want to live there.

If you have a steady part-time job (W-2) with reliable income to supplement your SE income, you can count that and it'll also make it easier to rent.

(P.S. I've been a Realtor, an apartment leasing agent, and a landlord, so I'm not talking out of my hat. Or other place -- LOL.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2020 01:14PM by BirdyC.

There were no liar loans for houses. There were risky loan products dreamed up by the banking industry, loan products so risky and reckless the bankers stopped offering them. 3-2-1 buybacks were one such product.Loan originators were rewarded for pushing risky loan products onto unsuspecting borrowers when there FHA loans that would have served the consumer better. All applicants for mortgages are required to provide the same qualifying documents, and to lie on a loan application is a felony. Finally, this happened under the GWB administration, and not Clinton. The end result was the largest transfer of wealth from the middle class. ( my qualifications include background in banking and 23 years real estate broker in an area which was ground zero in the housing meltdown. I was there and I saw it firsthand )

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2020 02:35PM by SS4U.

@SS4U wrote:

There were no liar loans for houses. There were risky loan products dreamed up by the banking industry, loan products so risky and reckless the bankers stopped offering them. ...Loan originators were rewarded for pushing risky loan products onto unsuspecting borrowers when there FHA loans that would have served the consumer better. All applicants for mortgages are required to provide the same qualifying documents, and to lie on a loan application is a felony. I was there and I saw it firsthand )

Yup. I worked for a builder back around 2003 through 2005 or 2006 and saw the beginning of the end. People buying $300,000 homes with zero down and getting conventional mortgages, people taking out high-risk adjustable mortgages when they could have taken out lower-risk ones (not all adjustables are bad), mortgage brokers and bankers not fully informing and educating buyers, etc. Realtors bear some of the blame for this too, because many of them did not have the necessary understanding of loan products and their risks.

All told, come 2007 in my area, the sh** hit the fan, and it took years for the market to bounce back. I guess in some areas 2008 was the big year of the bust, but around here it was in 2007.

the reason why those loans were pushed was because the builders and banks needed to make money, the borrowers bore the risk, as conventional loans required the borrower to pay private mortgage insurance to protect the banks. also, it's easier and much quicker to foreclose on that type of loan, unlike FHA or VA loans. Here's the kicker: the banks kept the houses. That's correct. They recovered their losses from the PMI, and kept the houses.

Oh, yeah. The number of foreclosures shot way up, and around here, there was very little trouble selling them, primarily because many of these were in nice, shiny-new neighborhoods. Of course, there were a lot of short sales, too, which resulted in the banks being upside-down on the loans' principal balances, but I imagine the interest helped make up the difference. Banks don't really like owning homes, but it can be profitable, depending on circumstances.

@BirdyC wrote:

I don't know what you're talking about. A self-employed individual has always had to provide proof of sufficient income in order to apply for and get a mortgage. Are you saying that the self-employed can no longer buy homes?

Not quite. There used to be "stated income" loans that came with a higher interest rate. It's basically just what it's call. If your credit score was high enough they would go with whatever you stated your income was, without any documentation. It came with a higher interest rate than a fully documented loan. Stated income = liar loan, because you could lie about your income in order to qualify.

When I started in self employment I received some sage advise that I'll pass along now since it seems appropriate. Buy what you intend to buy on credit before you start in on self-employment. Open the credit lines you expect to need and take good care of them. They will be your last until you establish credit as a self employed person. A self employed person needs at least two years of solid documented self employment income to get approved for anything substantial. Three or four years is better. So for you first few years of self-employment, expect to stay put, live where you do now, keep your spouse, make do with what you own, and drive what you have already.

And "documented income" doesn't mean a single sheet photocopy of a check stub. Those days are gone if you're self employed. It means a half ream of paper.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2020 08:40AM by JustForFun.

Stated income loans were generally used by self employed people, with certain requirements that included LTV in the property and credit scores. If the applicants lied about their income on the application, that would likely be a felony. I had several mortgages using stated income. The majority of borrowers did not qualify for that type of loan.

You mentioned Maritz and grandfathered rights. I have been with Maritz over 30 years. I don't have grandfathered rights. When they call I take a lot of the shops and I don't flake. I know its a ding against you if you cancel a shop so I don't cancel. I make sure to get my reports in on time. They refer to me as elite. It takes time and work to get in good with companies.

If you get turned down for housing it is in your interest to ask, ask, ask. When I purchased my house years ago both my husband and I were working. He was free lance in the entertainment business just like a chunk of people in my city. I worked for an established company. The loan officer said they could not get proof of employment so were were turned down. I questioned them and found out they called my company who told them they do not give out that info over the phone. They never pursued it further and checked me off as unemployed. For my husband they called his union and asked if he worked there. They told him no, which was the correct answer as he did not work "for" the union, but through the union.
Bottom line, if you are turned down do ask many questions.

sounds like a lazy loan officer who only did a quick " pre-qual " you should have been asked for your tax returns, etc. and certainly no phone calls to verify your information. Ever. In addition, you should have been provided something in writing as to why your loan application was denied.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2020 03:08PM by SS4U.