Forgive me, as I write this post through a cake fueled haze. I’m
an emotional eater. And today, well it has been an emotional rollercoaster.
Where to begin? Today I was informed via email that my HSBC mortgage loan
application was being denied. According to my loan officer, she was appealing
that decision. Several minutes later I received a convoluted email about an unreimbursed
employment expense on my 2012 tax return which would significantly decrease my
income for 2012. What? I called the loan officer for an explanation.
In 2010, I attended graduate school, trying to advance my
career in my field. I worked fulltime and was on a three year part-time
graduate school track. I paid for the first
year of school mostly out of my own savings and bi-weekly paychecks. It was a
struggle. In the second year of grad school, I applied for and received a
federal student loan. However the loan did not completely cover the full cost
of my tuition and last year I spent $16,000 of my own hard earned cash to pay
for a year’s worth of classes. Like I said, it was a struggle but I was determined
to complete my degree. The underwriter
deducted this expense from my gross annual income, and responded that I wouldn’t
be able to make the monthly payments on the loan. Now it appeared to me, that
HSBC was penalizing me for being too efficient, too careful with money. I paid
off a debt and it’s being used against me? I explained to the loan officer that
the $16,000 was part of a onetime tuition payment and I’m no longer in school
after graduating earlier this year and therefore does not have that expense
this year. Her response was, it doesn’t matter and that I should send an email
to her explaining what I had stated on the telephone, though she doubts that
the loan will be approve. She will forward my response to the underwriter. It
goes without saying, but I was extremely angry about this and immediately
wanted to close my current account with HSBC. Where do I go from here? I finally found a coop
and it appeared that it was slipping through my fingers.
I called my attorney, and he was very supportive. He stated that
it was a BS excuse and the truth was that HSBC did not or does not want to
approve loans for coops; therefore they find many excuses to deny the loan. He
reminded me that they have had the application for almost 90 days before coming
to this conclusion. He asked me if I wanted to continue with the property and I
was ecstatic that there were still options available to me. He gave me the
contact information for another mortgage loan company and I immediately
contacted the loan officer. I explained the situation to him and now he is
reviewing my papers.
I called my realtor and she reiterated what the attorney
said. HSBC needed a reason to deny me that loan because I’m buying a cooperative
and not a house.
I’m still feeling a bit raw, right now. Still on edge. Still
angry. I have wasted three months with a bank, who tried every reason possible
to deny me a home loan. It’s hard not to take it personally and it’s easy to
blame the underwriter for the difficulty. But I put the blame squarely on HSBC.
Their mortgage loan process leaves a lot to be desired.
One of my coworker is going to closing on her 4th
home later this month. This coworker has had a property that was foreclosed
several years ago and a large amount of student loan debt, yet she was approved
for a mortgage. Me, I have no liens, no foreclosures, a comparatively small
student loan, yet I get penalize for paying my bills. I don’t get it.
If anyone else has had a similar experience, please share.