car loan: Buy the House before the Car! - 02/16/16 03:22 AM
A common problem I run into when prequalifying a prospective homebuyer for a home loan is the one who just bought a car, or rather, financed its purchase, right before our initial meeting. While the mortgage industry seems to be tightening up, with ever more restrictive regulations and guidelines, it appears the auto financing industry still subscribes to the fog-a-mirror standard, i.e., if they can fog a mirror, they qualify for a car loan. 
Car payments generally represent one of the greatest monthly debts of a borrower and, consequently, significantly increase their debt-to-income ratio (DTI).  DTI is an important factor in qualifying a borrower … (1 comments)