Unclaimed Income -- Mortgage Approval?

[Jonathan Golon]

Hey guys,
I'm a 21 year old waiter and my fiance and I are looking to get approved for a mortgage because the market is fantastic and we could afford it. She's got a job that pays 27800 a year and I make about 21000 a year. Unfortunately, I've only got 7000 dollars on my w-2.

The restaurant I work for is a privately owned business and I wasn't told that I was supposed to claim my tips every week so our accountant must have been claiming the minimum for me all year. I've considered asking her to re-issue me a W-2 but in all honesty, I'd worry about my job security if my employer all of the sudden had to dish out another 500-800 dollars in taxes because I wasn't claiming tips all year and all of the sudden want to. I've started claiming my tips on my timecard now to prevent this from being a problem in the future, but that doesn't do me any good right now.

Most mortgage lenders require 2-3 years W-2 + Tax Returns + 1mo Paystubs. I've got one year of work on the books, so I know that already puts me at a disadvantage (not even considering I only have 7500 on that w-2 in the first place), but what I'm thinking might help my case is to show them my paystubs with how much I actually make a week/month. I could say that I've recently been promoted or something along those lines. I think if they see the money that I'm actually pulling in each week they might be more likely to lend.

I'm just wondering what you folks might advise me to do. Thanks a lot for reading this and for any insight you can give me.

[Bill Patterson]

Jonathan,
This is just one of the "life lessons" that you need to learn! I wouldn't worry too much about your past mistakes. Take your time, get your work and credit history back in shape with all of your income accounted for. Buy your new home next year! There will still be fantastic deals, interest rates are still forecasted to be low and you will have more time to save a bigger down payment!
Good luck,
Bill