I apologize if this isn't the right place for this.

I got a mortgage with Wells Fargo 3 years ago based solely on my income as a professional poker player and I paid it off. I'm trying to buy a house now and today when I met with a man from Wells Fargo he showed me a list of unacceptable incomes to use for a mortgage. Needless to say gambling was on the list. I have very good credit, can show 6 years of tax info for poker, plan on putting down 20%, had and paid off a mortgage with them already with the same income yet he was telling me that I likely have no chance of being able to use my income to receive a loan.

I will be looking into other banks but I was hoping someone here might have tips on a good bank to work with or just any info at all on professional poker players getting mortgages within the past 2 years. I know that the rules for getting a mortgage have tightened up a lot but I am wondering if this could also have to do with Black Friday. Any stories of people defaulting on loans due to BF? I'm sure its happened to more than a few people but I'd be suprised if that had come under their radar but it's possible.

Another concern of mine is that if I pursue this with Wells Fargo, which is my main bank, it could come to someones attention that I am bringing poker money through their bank and this could cause obvious problems. Thanks

Oh, I was going back and forth between posting here and bbv and thought I had posted in bbv in the end. Hence the title. Mods please redirect to wherever you think appropriate. Thanks

I would find the lowest rate in town, and then find a small local bank and try to get them to match that.

Thanks. This is what I intend to do. I'm a bit surprised that no one has chimed in with personal experience of this though. Surely there are some pros who have attempted to qualify for a loan lately. Do people think I am at risk of exposing payment processors or myself if I pursue this?

You want a mortgage broker.

so fannie/freddyf/ha wont go off 2 years of tax returns anymore? wow.. maybe its just bank specific. what state are you in? CA?

I worked for wfhm as an underwriter right out of college (god awful job). They basically just write a book of guidelines that everyone has to follow or you get written up. I think this guideline was put in place before bf. In regards to risking or exposing yourself or payment processors, there is no chance of this happening. There is no information shared between home mortgage and wellsfargobank. Also, 99% of the workers there would never care enough to do anything about it and would have to jump through so many hoops to get it done it would be absolutely pointless. They are way more worried about preventing fraud cases then a gambling customer. They will just deny the loan and be done with it. Your best bet is to go through a small local bank which is much more willing to be flexible with you then a large national corporate bank.

It was a mortgage broker that told me gambling was listed as an unacceptable income.

Yeh when I got a mortgage with them a few years ago they had tightened up from previous standards and wanted to see 3 years tax returns. Apparently it has tightened up significantly since then as he seemed to be saying no amount of tax returns would suffice. I am hoping it is bank specific but thats what Im trying to find out. Will be talking to more tomorrow when they open back up.
I am in North Carolina.

Awesome. Glad to be put at ease about the payment processor issue. The bold text is kind of what I figured but still made me lol. Ill be trying out smaller banks tomorrow. Thanks

that must be bank specific as fannie/freddie loans accept 1040's with any form of income reported as proof of income.. as long as you have 2-3 years of returns to qualify for DTI purposes, then you should qualify.. look for a bank that does straight fannie/freddy/fha which doesnt have that "gambling income" exclusion. i think its a bank specific issue.

Do you know of them accepting them within the last year?

Look for an independent mortgage broker as an alternative.

YES, fannie mae guidelines require income on 1040's (more specifically schedule C's ) to be counted towards DTI ratios . You could be the naked cowboy for all Fannie mare cares, as long as you can back it up with 1040's.

I met a wf mortgage guy through a tennis league and told him I was having problems with being approved for a refi because of gambling. He said no problem and got it through. This was last spring.

Cant really say I blame the banks for having this rule in place.......

Thank god that there is still some lending responsibility left in these parasites

I'd be more concerned what happens farther down the pipeline when the mortgage loans are sold.

Last spring before BF or after? I just got a msg from the WF guy and he says he may be able to work it out now. Kind of wondering if I'd rather just use a smaller bank and one that isn't my main bank for the loan now anyway.

^^
You'll basically get the same rate anywhere if they know you're shopping around. BOA has usually won the bidding wars in my experience.

is there a legal way to keep from disclosing you are self-employed? like forming an s-corp and then paying yourself a salary?

I think so. I asked my accountant about it a couple years ago and I think we just decided it didn't make sense financially as I would have extra fees or taxes but I think it is legal.

Update: I did find several other banks that were fine with qualifying me for a loan based on poker income. We ended up going with BB&T.
I now have a new dilemma. Apparently it is standard procedure to inquire about any large deposits made into the buyers bank account recently. They basically want some sort of receipt from the site to show it is poker income. I guess they are afraid it is something more shady than online poker? no idea. But anyway, the deposit in question came from a friend that I do transfers with so it didn't come directly from a site. It is money that I made playing poker but how is this money viewed legally since it is just sent to me from a civilian? Should I just explain the situation or keep it simple and say that this guy sends my withdrawals from site x? Banking people's input would be much appreciated.

Did he deposit from his bank to yours? like a wire?

Yes it was a wire from Ireland.