Mortgage Glossary
Written VOE (Verification of Employment)
FNMA Form 1005 plus 2 months of personal bank statements — a clean stand-alone income path for W-2 employees.
What is a Written VOE?
A Written Verification of Employment (Written VOE) is FNMA Form 1005 — a standardized form the borrower’s employer completes, signs, and returns directly to the lender. It documents the borrower’s employment start date, current position, gross monthly or annual compensation, year-to-date earnings, any overtime/commission/bonus history, and the probability the employer expects the employment to continue.
On a conventional Fannie/Freddie loan, the Written VOE typically supplements other income documentation (recent paystubs, prior-year W-2s, tax returns). It’s a verification document, not a stand-alone income source.
On a non-QM Written VOE program, the form becomes the primary income document. Combined with bank statements showing the employer actually deposits the stated compensation, the VOE delivers enough evidence to underwrite the loan without paystubs, W-2s, or tax returns. It’s the lightest-touch full-doc-feeling alternative for clean W-2 borrowers.
How Written VOE works at Total Quality Lending
On Total Quality Lending’s Prime Time non-QM program, the Written VOE income path accepts FNMA Form 1005 plus 2 months of the borrower’s personal bank statements showing employer deposits as the sole income documentation. No paystubs, no W-2s, no tax returns.
The Written VOE income lives in the alt-doc column of the Prime Time matrix — the same column as P&L Only and Asset Utilization. Max LTV reaches 80% on primary residence at 720 FICO and ≤$2M loan, with stepdowns at higher loan tiers and lower scores. The program requires 1x30x12 housing history maximum and at least 36 months of credit-event seasoning. See the no-tax-return mortgage hub for a side-by-side of Written VOE vs the other alt-doc paths.
FAQs
What is a Written VOE?
A Written Verification of Employment is FNMA Form 1005 — a standardized form completed and signed by the borrower's employer documenting employment dates, position, gross compensation, year-to-date earnings, and probability of continued employment. It's the same form used in many conventional and FHA workflows.
How does TQL Prime Time use a Written VOE?
TQL Prime Time accepts the Written VOE plus 2 months of the borrower's personal bank statements showing employer deposits as the sole income documentation. No paystubs, W-2s, or tax returns are required.
Who benefits from a Written VOE income path?
Borrowers whose W-2/paystub paperwork is inconvenient or unavailable — recent job-changers in their probationary period, employees of small businesses with limited HR infrastructure, or borrowers in industries with non-standard pay cycles (commission, bonus-heavy). The VOE provides the same employer verification without the standard paystub package.