Self-employed underwriting: 25% rule "loophole"?

[Joe Maron]

Hello folks! I have a question about getting a mortgage underwritten as a newly self-employed person.

I recently decided to leave corporate hell and started a one-man, one-owner corporation. I pay myself a base W2 income plus a variable bonus every month.

Unfortunately, self-employment is not looked upon favorably by lenders as it is not considered stable income without at least one full year of evidence to the contrary. So I'd really like to avoid being classified as self employed!

The Fannie Mae underwriting guidelines define a self-employed person as follows:

• Any individual who has a 25% or greater ownership interest in a business is considered to be self-employed.

So, suppose I sell or otherwise transfer 76% ownership of my corporation to another person, perhaps an uninvolved family member. Is it really true that I'm now just a normal W2 employee for underwriting purposes? That would make getting approved heaps easier... so much easier that my proposed solution seems fraud-level "gamey" and I suspect a lender would see through it.

What do you folks think? Is this a valid "loophole" to avoid being treated as self-employed? Thanks very much for your perspectives!