Are you required to live in a state for a certain period of time before you can apply for a mortgage?

By Harry Jensen, Trusted Mortgage Expert with 45+ Years of Experience

Edited by Michael Jensen, Mortgage and Finance Guru

Updated October 20, 2020

I am not aware of any regulations that require you to reside in a state for a minimum period of time before you are eligible to apply for a mortgage. Lenders may apply their own state residency guidelines but that would be highly unusual.

You are typically required to provide two years of residence history when you apply for a loan and if you have not paid for rent or a mortgage payment for an extended period of time -- such as if you lived with a relative -- then some lenders may want to see a track record of making monthly housing payments before you can qualify for a mortgage, although this is relatively uncommon. Additionally, this residence history requirement is borrower-specific and not a state regulation.

The issue that lenders typically focus on when you move from one state to another is your employment history. Lenders typically require that borrowers have two years of continuous employment to qualify for a mortgage.

The job history requirement for a mortgage, however, has nothing to do with where you live or if you recently moved but rather the continuity of your employment. Lenders want to make sure that your income is steady and relatively permanent which is why they focus on employment gaps and how long you have been working at your current job.

If you move to a new state, sometimes that causes a break in your employment that can be an issue when you apply for a mortgage. As long as you are currently employed, your job does not have a probationary period and any gap in your employment caused by moving was shorter than a month, then you are well-positioned to qualify for a mortgage.

In an ideal scenario, you can transfer jobs with the same employer or remain in the same line of work if you move to a different state. In this case, you should not have to wait before you apply for the loan.

The table below shows mortgage terms for leading lenders in your state.  We recommend that you contact multiple lenders to confirm your mortgage eligibility and to find the best loan terms.

Sources

"B2-2-01, General Borrower Eligibility Requirements."  Selling Guide: Fannie Mae Single Family.  Fannie Mae, July 28 2015.  Web.