Mortgage qualification based on future income?

Hi-

My wife accepted a job offer at a college in Vermont.  We currently reside and own a home in California.  The Vermont job starts in July, and until then my wife will finish teaching this semester in California, so there will be no gap in income for her.  We have a signed contract stating her salary, which is about 20% higher than her current salary, and start date.  I telecommute, so my income is portable.

We have our eyes on a specific property in Vermont and would like to get the ball rolling on a mortgage.  We called a local credit union in Vermont for a pre-approval.  After a couple of weeks, the loan officer finally concluded that the income my wife will be making (beginning this summer) cannot be applied toward the pre-approval, nor can her current California income.  The loan officer claimed that this was a regulation from Fannie or Freddie (I forget which one).  Using only my income, we do not qualify for the amount necessary to purchase the home we want; we only qualify for a home at 80% of that value.  So, if we could use my wife's income, we would certainly qualify for a loan at or above the asking price of this home.

We do not want to wait until July to make this purchase--closing in mid-to-late May would be preferable, allowing us to get some work completed on the house before we move in July.  I am tempted to talk to other banks to get a second opinion, but if this regulation is indeed at the Fannie or Freddie level, I would guess that we would get the same answer from any other underwriter.  And making too many credit inquiries might hurt our credit rating, which I obviously want to keep stellar (it's in the 800 range currently).

Can anyone tell us if it is now standard policy to exclude income that will be made in the future, even if we have documentation of this income?

Thanks!

Steady employment in the same field with the same employer is the most preferred type of employment for an FHA loan. No mater if you worked an entry level job. I completed medical school two years ago and have one more year left as a resident at a local hospital. I've decided to remain in the area and found a home I really like.

With the current mortgage lender guidelines have normalized, there should not be a problem for you in purchasing. You should be able to get a pre-qual letter.

This needs a complete information so that later, one can wok on managing it properly. It is required to understand amount and thus qualifying for a loan.

I mean for a person it is very necessary to get qualified for better prospects in future.