Questions about personal characteristics, gender identity, or sexual orientation are considered invasive and are not related to those of the borrower. Mortgage lenders must base their credit decisions on objective financial criteria, such as credit history, income, employment status, and debt-to-income ratio. Questions about personal characteristics, gender identity, or sexual orientation are considered invasive and are not related to the borrower's creditworthiness. In terms of family status, the lender can ask you how many children you currently have and their ages, but they can't ask you if you plan to have more, even if you are noticeably pregnant.
A lender can't ask you about your birth control practices. A lender also cannot ask you about your intentions to have or raise children or about your ability to have children. Usually, when you apply for a loan, a lender can't base their decision on your race, color, religion, or sex. This applies to most lenders, including companies that offer car loans, student loans, and credit cards, and more. Mortgage lenders may generally ask questions related to the borrower's source of income during the mortgage application process because this information is crucial in evaluating the borrower's ability to repay the loan.
A mortgage broker collects information from the applicant on behalf of the lender making the decision to originate the mortgage or not. The Safe Act requires mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers to obtain a license in accordance with state law, attend 20 hours of pre-license classes and eight hours of continuing education classes each year, and pass a federal exam and the exam of the state in which they will be practicing. When you apply for a mortgage or mortgage pre-approval, the lender assesses the risk of hiring you as a borrower. For example, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), with respect to most mortgage transactions, a lender or broker may ask for your gender, but only to support compliance with anti-discrimination laws.
The lender or broker may explain that the single category includes people who are single, divorced and widowed. While a mortgage broker submits their application to a lender to secure the loan, a mortgage banker is one step more than a mortgage broker. If you plan to use the money given to you by a family member or friend, your lender will ask you for a letter of donation, explaining the origin of the money and supporting documentation for the transfer. of funds.
While the above list of common mortgage questions may make it seem like mortgage lenders can ask you anything they want, there are some limits. Mortgage bankers finance their own loans, says Donald Frommeyer, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. When you're asked an illegal question, experts recommend several different approaches, but the first step is to tell the broker that you're not required to answer that question, Killian says. Whether you apply for your mortgage from a mortgage banker, a mortgage broker, or through your local bank, experts advise you to know what questions to ask and what not to ask.
The only case where the age of a mortgage applicant is relevant is when determining if they are old enough to sign legal documents or if they are eligible for a reverse mortgage.
