need mortgage loan asap but lack of work history

[Brian Oberholzer]

Hi first post, love these forums! Buying a home in Idaho, primary residence for my family. Looking to spend 300k, and hoping not to put 20% down, would like to go 10% or less if possible. However I'm being told I won't qualify for an FHA loan since I've worked mainly as an independent contractor for years, with occasional W2 employment but never beyond 3 months. I declare heavy expenses on taxes so my yearly net is generally 20k or less. I can show decent bank deposit history, around an average of 80k per year last few years. My fico is showing 680 on credit karma. I want the best rate possible and don't want a specialty loan at 6%+ interest and a high down payment, so my dad with an 800 fico and great work history agreed to do the loan for me. He is a current homeowner in California and has a few rental properties there, so maybe he can't declare this as a primary residence purchased for me? In any case would love some mortgage pros to weigh in here as to what my best option and rate + points will be. Thanks!

[Don Spafford]

@Brian Oberholzer Could your dad just be a cosigner or guarantor for you? Guild Mortgage is pretty good to work with to find you the best options. To me though $300k sounds like it would be very tight if you are only netting around $20k. It would even still be high if you were getting $80k gross assuming you have other living expenses like food, insurance, etc. I would just say be sure to make the wisest financial decision for you and not get ahead of yourself. If you can find a good duplex or other small multi-family that you can house hack, that would probably be your best option. That way the banks will see the rent from the other units as income for you to help increase your income and cover the loan and it will help you to lower your mortgage expense to save you money so that maybe after a couple of years you can look to upgrade to a better home and then rent out the unit you were living in.