Skip to main content

Mortgage Loan Denied

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.  

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guest Bedroom Reveal!

I have a long to do list for my home. The problem is trying to priorities that to do list. Every item in my home was purchase, from the farmhouse chandeliers in the upstairs bedrooms to the doorknobs. All the door knobs. Furnishing a new home is quite expensive. Even though I am giddy and excited to get this home completely furniture and renovated, I have had to take a step back. I have had to just learn to live in a minimally furniture home.   I love it. I love the bare walls. I love the space.   I love the feel of not having clutter. On my last blog post, I showed some pictures of my kitchen and dining room, Today I want to share a few pictures from some of the other parts of the home. It's not perfect. I still need a dresser and a mirror but those will come in time.  In the meantime, this is what it looks like.
Post a Comment
Read more

I found another house

At the end of July, I thought that I had found my dream home. I made an offer. The seller countered. Then I accepted the seller’s counter offer.   I was already trying to schedule the home inspection when my realtor, Robert, texted me that the seller wanted to hold off. Well, according to Robert, the seller decided to sell the home to his neighbor’s friend. I was disappointed but then oddly felt relief. As much as I like the home and the area, I was a little worried that the location was a little too isolated. It was close to buses but far away from the train. I was concerned about how I would get to and from work. Robert would still make his commission as he was acting as both the buyer and seller’s agent. Everyone was happy except for me. I then called another former realtor, Louis, and we began looking at properties.   We went to an open house on a quiet street, a few blocks away from a subway station and a block from a bus, that was listed below market value. There w...
Post a Comment
Read more

House Renovations

Despite closing on my home last month, I haven't yet moved in. When I first made an offer on the house, I did not think that I would begin renovations immediately. I knew the house needed some updates.  But I could live with an outdated, functional kitchen for a while. once the sellers vacated the property, I was finally able to assess the property without their furniture blocking and cover any damages.  I hired a painter who was also a licensed contractor who noticed that all the walls in the house were bulging. The second bedroom where the children slept had a leak which caused the baseboard to rot and the wall to swell. The house was inspected twice and at no time did the inspector report rotting baseboard and leaking in the walls. I was not happy. Would knowing all these things deter me from purchasing this house? probably not.  However, the last thing I expected to do so soon after spending almost ten years of savings on closing cost and a down payment, w...
Post a Comment
Read more