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Meet Jan Parsons, Mortgage Loan Expert

Jan Parsons - Mortgage Loans Expert

Jan Parsons

Mortgage Loans

Backed by a decade of mortgage loan experience, Jan specializes in working with individuals and couples facing divorce. The reason why she focused on this niche is because she too went through a divorce 11 years ago. “I had a home and I really wanted to keep the home, but I didn’t know if I could qualify to keep it or know what my rights would be.” The attorney said okay you have so many days to put the house on the market, and it sold in four days and she was devasted. When she began working as a mortgage professional it was a natural fit for her. “I’m going to help others that were in my situation because I felt like there was maybe a missing piece to the puzzle there.”

With clarity and care, she will guide you through mortgage-related decisions. Her goal is to be sensitive to your financial and emotional goals while helping you make mortgage-related decisions for your long-term quality of life. Jan grew up in sunny California and has lived in beautiful Colorado for 20 years. She is an author and a past radio host. Jan is also a recognized Five Star Mortgage Professional. She is Nationally licensed, CHFA certified, and recognized as an annual top producer and Million Dollar Club award recipient.

Jan lives with her husband Tim, and Son Christian. She enjoys gardening, cooking and skiing in her spare time.

Q & A

Are the guidelines much different when it comes to lending for a person who is divorced versus a traditional lending situation?

It’s much, much different than regular traditional lending. And it really should start at the front end of the divorce process. There are a lot of traditional lenders who do not work with divorce clients on a regular basis who are apt to make mistakes. And of course, attorneys aren’t going to know mortgage underwriting guidelines either, just as I don’t know how an attorney does their job, so it’s basically the same.

Can either party purchase or finance a house until the separation agreement and parenting plan are finalized or do they need the final divorce decree?

We do not need the final divorce decree, but we do need a fully executed (signed by all parties) and stamped copy of the separation agreement and parenting plan.

What should people bring in and prepare for a meeting with you for a first meeting?

Thirty days of paystubs, two years of W-2s for the most recent years and the last two years of their federal tax returns, separation agreement, and parenting plan (if applicable).

Can you explain a little bit about how debt to income ratio affects lending?

Fannie Mae allows us to go up to a 50% debt to income ratio and FHA allows us to go up to a 57% debt to income ratio. I will help my client if they’re right at the edge and need to lower their ratios.

So talk to me more about what it takes to qualify if one person is being removed from the loan and the other has to refinance.

If one of the parties is going to be awarded the marital home and they are both on the loan, then the loan must be refinanced to take the person off…I see a lot of mistakes with this, often a client will be sent to me after their divorced and they’ll say to me, “Okay, I was awarded the home and I’m ready to refinance now” and I review the legal documentation, and they don’t qualify to refinance. Now they’re devasted. So, it’s very important to have a loan officer who works the divorce niche be a part of the process on the front end of the divorce proceeding, so that when the time comes to refinance, they will qualify. I will then send a detailed email to the attorney whose referred the client to me and copy the client on the email detailing exactly what we need in order for their client to be able to keep their marital home or if they are going to purchase after the fact.

What about if they are both going to sell the house and split it, is this process pretty easy?

Yes, it is a fairly easy process. I think where there may be hiccups, is oftentimes if they want to move directly from their marital home and purchase another home. Sometimes that’s not possible if we must season* those support payments. It might be best if the person who needs support payments seasoned can be allowed to stay in the marital home for six months while the support payments are being seasoned. At that point the home will be sold and the person receiving the support can move from the marital home directly into their new home.

It’s important to me that I specify to my borrower that if their debt to income ratio is super high, we discuss selling the marital home because it may be too much of a hardship for them to keep it.

*Seasoned payments are determined by loan type. Depending on the specific loan type, it may require anywhere from 3 to 12 months of receiving support payments.

What questions do you wish clients would ask you when they first come to see you?

I feel like it’s my job to make sure I educate them as well as I can. It’s very important to start this process at the beginning of the divorce versus after-the-fact, so all questions are good questions.

More Information on Seasoning Support Payments

Seasoning Support Payments is a process that is very specific to divorcing couples who find themselves refinancing under one name to keep the marital home or financing a new home after the divorce. If one of the two parties will be using either their spousal support or child support as qualifying income for their loan, they will have to go through a process called “seasoning the support payments.” Basically, this means that the loan officer will have to show the underwriter that the potential borrower has been in receipt of support payments for:

FHA Loan: 3 months
Conventional Loan: 6 months
Jumbo Loan: 12 months

In addition to the time is needed to season the support payments based on the type of loan, there also needs to be proof shown through legal documents that the support payments will continue for another three years.

Example: One party will be receiving spousal and child support payments and plans to use these as a part of their qualifying income for a FHA loan. Before the loan can be approved, these support payments need to be ‘seasoned’ for three months. Once they have received the support for three months, they must then provide legal documentation that these support payments will continue for another three years.

Pro Tip:

If you plan on using your spousal and/or child support as a part of your qualifying income for a loan, it is important to either receive this by check or through the Family Support Registry. Per Fannie Mae guidelines, the underwriter may approve the loan and acknowledge the seasoning of support payments these payments must be shown to have been paid by the person named in the legal document who should be paying them. This can be difficult when payments are made through direct bank transfers and other such transactions.

Awards and Accolades

American Institute of Legal Counsel

The American Institute of Legal Counsel compiles an exclusive list of the “10 Best” Attorneys for each State. This is a prestigious honor for the Attorney as each Attorney must:

  • Be formally nominated by the Institute, client, and/or fellow Attorney;
  • Have attained the highest degree of professional achievement in his or her field of law; and
  • Having done so with an impeccable Client Satisfaction rating.

The National Advocates: Top 40 under 40

Top 40 under 40 are national, interconnected invitation-only professional honorary, networking, educational and leadership organizations composed of top attorneys from each state or region who take pride in guiding and representing individuals and families that need an advocate on their side in the American legal system. The National Advocates: Top 40 under 40 exemplify superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence and performance in their area of specialty.

BBB

Accredited by the Better Business Bureau

Avvo 10 Rating

Avvo’s rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information they collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals.

National Academy of Family Law Attorneys

The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys is an organization devoted to recognizing the top family law attorneys in the nation. With over a million attorneys in the United States, choosing the best lawyer is difficult. However, through a stringent selection process, the NAFLA awards the best family law attorneys in each state with our most prestigious honor of being named “TOP 10”. The very few attorneys (less than 1%) that are good enough to make our list have demonstrated an extraordinary amount of knowledge, skill, experience, expertise and success in their practice of family law.

2020 Colorado Rising Stars List

We are proud to announce the selection of four of our attorneys, William Smith, Kathlyn Laraway, Ashley Balicki and David Kalisek, to the 2020 Colorado Rising Stars list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in Colorado. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

2020 Super Lawyers List

We are proud to announce the selection of managing partner, Douglas Thomas to the 2020 Colorado Super Lawyers list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than 5 percent of attorneys in Colorado. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

The National Association of Distinguished Counsel

The National Association of Distinguished Counsel is an organization dedicated to promoting the highest standards of legal excellence. By virtue of the incredible selectivity of our research process, only the elite few are invited to join the ranks of the NADC. Specifically, less than 1% of practicing attorneys in the United States are members of the “Nation’s Top Attorneys”.

Expertise – Best Child Support Lawyers in Denver

Expertise’s goal is to connect people with the best local experts. They score Denver Child Support Lawyers on more than 25 variables across five categories, and analyzed the results to give you a hand-picked list of the best.

American Institute of Legal Counsel

The American Institute of Legal Counsel compiles an exclusive list of the “10 Best” Attorneys for each State. This is a prestigious honor for the Attorney as each Attorney must:

  • Be formally nominated by the Institute, client, and/or fellow Attorney;
  • Have attained the highest degree of professional achievement in his or her field of law; and
  • Having done so with an impeccable Client Satisfaction rating.

The National Advocates: Top 40 under 40

Top 40 under 40 are national, interconnected invitation-only professional honorary, networking, educational and leadership organizations composed of top attorneys from each state or region who take pride in guiding and representing individuals and families that need an advocate on their side in the American legal system. The National Advocates: Top 40 under 40 exemplify superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence and performance in their area of specialty.

BBB

Accredited by the Better Business Bureau

Avvo 10 Rating

Avvo’s rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information they collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals.

National Academy of Family Law Attorneys

The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys is an organization devoted to recognizing the top family law attorneys in the nation. With over a million attorneys in the United States, choosing the best lawyer is difficult. However, through a stringent selection process, the NAFLA awards the best family law attorneys in each state with our most prestigious honor of being named “TOP 10”. The very few attorneys (less than 1%) that are good enough to make our list have demonstrated an extraordinary amount of knowledge, skill, experience, expertise and success in their practice of family law.

2020 Colorado Rising Stars List

We are proud to announce the selection of four of our attorneys, William Smith, Kathlyn Laraway, Ashley Balicki and David Kalisek, to the 2020 Colorado Rising Stars list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in Colorado. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

2020 Super Lawyers List

We are proud to announce the selection of managing partner, Douglas Thomas to the 2020 Colorado Super Lawyers list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than 5 percent of attorneys in Colorado. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

The National Association of Distinguished Counsel

The National Association of Distinguished Counsel is an organization dedicated to promoting the highest standards of legal excellence. By virtue of the incredible selectivity of our research process, only the elite few are invited to join the ranks of the NADC. Specifically, less than 1% of practicing attorneys in the United States are members of the “Nation’s Top Attorneys”.

Expertise – Best Child Support Lawyers in Denver

Expertise’s goal is to connect people with the best local experts. They score Denver Child Support Lawyers on more than 25 variables across five categories, and analyzed the results to give you a hand-picked list of the best.

American Institute of Legal Counsel

The American Institute of Legal Counsel compiles an exclusive list of the “10 Best” Attorneys for each State. This is a prestigious honor for the Attorney as each Attorney must:

  • Be formally nominated by the Institute, client, and/or fellow Attorney;
  • Have attained the highest degree of professional achievement in his or her field of law; and
  • Having done so with an impeccable Client Satisfaction rating.

The National Advocates: Top 40 under 40

Top 40 under 40 are national, interconnected invitation-only professional honorary, networking, educational and leadership organizations composed of top attorneys from each state or region who take pride in guiding and representing individuals and families that need an advocate on their side in the American legal system. The National Advocates: Top 40 under 40 exemplify superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence and performance in their area of specialty.

BBB

Accredited by the Better Business Bureau

Avvo 10 Rating

Avvo’s rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information they collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals.

National Academy of Family Law Attorneys

The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys is an organization devoted to recognizing the top family law attorneys in the nation. With over a million attorneys in the United States, choosing the best lawyer is difficult. However, through a stringent selection process, the NAFLA awards the best family law attorneys in each state with our most prestigious honor of being named “TOP 10”. The very few attorneys (less than 1%) that are good enough to make our list have demonstrated an extraordinary amount of knowledge, skill, experience, expertise and success in their practice of family law.

2020 Colorado Rising Stars List

We are proud to announce the selection of four of our attorneys, William Smith, Kathlyn Laraway, Ashley Balicki and David Kalisek, to the 2020 Colorado Rising Stars list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in Colorado. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

2020 Super Lawyers List

We are proud to announce the selection of managing partner, Douglas Thomas to the 2020 Colorado Super Lawyers list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than 5 percent of attorneys in Colorado. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

The National Association of Distinguished Counsel

The National Association of Distinguished Counsel is an organization dedicated to promoting the highest standards of legal excellence. By virtue of the incredible selectivity of our research process, only the elite few are invited to join the ranks of the NADC. Specifically, less than 1% of practicing attorneys in the United States are members of the “Nation’s Top Attorneys”.

Expertise – Best Child Support Lawyers in Denver

Expertise’s goal is to connect people with the best local experts. They score Denver Child Support Lawyers on more than 25 variables across five categories, and analyzed the results to give you a hand-picked list of the best.