May 3, 2013
A reader asks, “Does one of the co-borrowers have to be enrolled in college, or can one of the applicants be a young employed adult?”
FHA loan rules require borrowers to be of legal age acceptable in the laws of your state. If you are old enough to sign a legally binding contract in the eyes of the law, you are old enough to apply for an FHA home loan.
That does not guarantee loan approval–the FHA requires the lender to review all borrowers and co-borrowers for creditworthiness, income, employment and credit scores. A borrower who is at the legal age in his or her state, but does not meet credit standards would not be approved for a VA home loan.
Borrowers who are in college would still need to show proof of income and that said income is reliable and likely to continue. FHA loan rules require borrowers and co-borrowers to be credit-worthy and able to afford the loan.
When it comes to questions like these, it’s also good to point out that there is no maximum age for FHA loans, either. In fact, some FHA loans require the borrower to be age 62 or older–this is true for FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgages or HECM loans for short.
As long as a borrower is of legal age and financially qualified, he or she can apply for an FHA loan with reasonable confidence. Borrowers who are not yet at the legal age in order to sign contracts will be required to wait until they are of legal age; those who have low credit scores or derogatory credit information on their record should work hard to establish at least one year’s worth of on-time payments and develop a history of good credit behavior before applying for an FHA home loan.
Do you have questions about FHA mortgages? Ask us in the comments section.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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