Holey moley folks.... let's see if I can put this thread out of its misery by relaying a recent file I closed. It was just on the tippy 'edge' of debt-to-income ratios, and the credit cards (which were normally paid in full each month, but averaged about $500 balance) had to come in under $300 balance total, among both (not because of the balance, but because of the resulting calculated minimum payment (2% of balance,) which affected the DTIs.)

Steps;
1.) Get automated approval (Fannie/Freddie automated engines.) These engines allow you to manually over-ride their credit pull, *or* manually edit the income figures... but you then have to prove the figures with documentation,

2.) Underwriting reviewed, stipulated, and ultimately cleared everything *BUT* sufficient income (meaning, too much debt payments,) based on the credit balances showing on the trimerge credit reports.

The Magic;
3.) We had the clients pay off both cards and ask their card anks to suspend any autopays for about 10 days, while we had the credit agency pull "supplemental reports" (which are account-specific targeted credit pulls,) showing the zero balances.

DONE!

It all starts, however, with the automated approval findings... so don't torture yourself trying to perfectly shape your numbers before you have the findings to navigate from.

Dave Donhoff
Leverage Planner