Expert: Jessica Bryan - 8/7/2006

Question
Long story short, my wife & I have a property in FL that we desperately want. We are closing on our house in IN next Monday. The problem that we have is that neither of us is employed at the present. My wife was a LAN administrator for the state for 19 years, and I have been in the food service industry for over 25 years. She is currently drawing about $1300/month on unemployment and is facing being laid off by the state during this time, and I have not been able to find work because of the distance I have to travel to find work. Most companies seem to want someone local to the city and we are in a farming community and nothing is really that close to here that has the jobs available.  Finding a job will NOT be a problem for us, but nobody wants to loan us money without us working regardless of our experience. We both feel confident we can find work very quickly, but this doesn't seem to matter. We are pressed for time on getting financing on this property (a mobile on 5 acres of land in Lakeland) and I wanted to know if you have any suggestions for us.  

Answer
Dear Christopher;
Without any source of income most lenders will not talk to you about a loan.  My suggestion is to go and plead your case with a lender as soon as possible.  The lender will begin the loan process subject to your finding work.  Have an approval in place and then go find work as soon as you can. Just getting an employment committment will help your situation.  The only other thing I can suggest is for you to have a relative co-sign until you can find jobs.  Again, discussing your options with a lender as soon as you can will certainly be helpful.
Good luck and best wishes.
Jessica Bryan