Six Days to Closing. Please Send Us Something From 2019

There should be a special mortgage rule stating that any document older than five years can only be requested before noon.

Unfortunately, no such rule exists.

A first-time buyer learned that when underwriting requested older financial or tax-related documentation just days before closing.

The information dated back years.

The closing date did not.

The setup

The borrowers believed they had already provided what was needed.

The file had moved forward.

Closing was approaching.

Then a new condition appeared asking for records connected to a non-borrowing partner and older financial history.

Now everybody was hunting for documents from several years earlier while the countdown to closing continued.

Why does underwriting do this so late?

Sometimes new information changes the scope of the review.

Sometimes a document raises another question.

Sometimes an automated system flags something.

Sometimes a guideline requires documentation that wasn’t obvious at the beginning.

And sometimes the file simply reaches a reviewer who sees something that needs to be addressed.

None of those explanations make it feel better when you’re six days from closing.

The scavenger hunt

Old tax records.

Old court documents.

Old support agreements.

Old account information.

Mortgage underwriting occasionally turns homebuyers into amateur archivists.

The good news is that many last-minute conditions are solvable.

The key is figuring out exactly what the underwriter needs to establish and providing the cleanest documentation possible.

The buyer’s experience eventually turned into another example of mortgage chaos that was stressful in the moment but manageable once the right paperwork surfaced.

Underwriter’s Take

Late conditions are probably one of the biggest sources of frustration in mortgage lending.

Borrowers often ask a perfectly fair question:

“Why didn’t you ask for this three weeks ago?”

Sometimes there’s a good answer.

Sometimes there really isn’t.

But once a condition exists, arguing about when it should have been requested usually doesn’t get the loan closed any faster.

Find the document.

Clear the condition.

Get the keys.

Then complain about it afterward.

That’s practically a mortgage tradition. 😄