This is a long story so thanks in advance for your patience. I wish I had some today.
Dad is on a fixed income with a small savings and a house with significant equity that still has a mortgage. He has monthly debt (between mortgage, RE taxes, homeowner's insurance, and credit card payments) equal to his fixed income. He uses rent he receives from another adult child and has had sporadic sources of income for the last 10 months to pay other monthly, quarterly, and one-time expenses related to his house and his health. At this point he is starting to use his savings to pay for those things as the other sources of income have dried up. He has been living with me so we pay for his groceries and some minor entertainment expenses. Recently he applied to "refinance" his mortgage to lower his interest rate. Ordinarily this is a good thing. However the refinancing was via a program for folks on fixed incomes, e.g. SSI and Pensions. Dad was turned down. It was my understanding that this denial was due to the other income he'd been receiving from rent, disability, and other one-time payments. It was also my understanding that the broker gave instructions on how to "hide" the rental income (hearsay because this is what my Dad told me) and indicated that Dad should resubmit the application in two weeks.
So here's where my question comes in. I spoke to the broker (with a big bank that was bailed out) who insisted that the underwriter messed up. To paraphrase the broker, "she has only been doing this for a year. She didn't know what she was doing, I've seen these applications go through before with no problem. I don't know why she denied it, I don't think she was paying attention." However, when I started to ask questions about the extra sources of income and asked if he was aware that the house was put on the market, he started to backpedal and indicated that they usually scrutinize all the financials and further indicated that if they had known the house was up for sale, the application would not go through.
This broker seems to be throwing the underwriter 'under the bus' for being incompetent when in fact she did her job. So my question is, is he being misogynistic towards this co-worker (NB: to be honest I don't know if she is a co-worker. Is the underwriter an employee of the bank or an agency that insures the mortgage or the government agency that buys the mortgage) to make himself look good or is he really trying to do the right thing for my Dad? And do I write a complaint letter or let it go?
FWIW, I've already indicated to Dad that refinancing for thousands of extra dollars just to lower his mortgage by a couple of hundred per month isn't in his best interests, won't help him bring down his expenses enough to preclude dipping into savings, and that the broker's suggestion to hide the rental income seems unethical at best and may constitute mortgage fraud at worst. Dad however is going to go ahead and do what Dad wants to do (which is why he both applied to refinance AND listed the house).
Thanks so much for the quick responses. You all rock! I think my own issues with feeling like a second class child due to my perception of how my mother and father treated me (only girl between two boys and were brought up in somewhat of an Orthodox tradition) clouded my assessment. Indeed the broker was finagling for his fee and using crappy sales tactics in his efforts. I am indeed staying involved. At 80yo, Dad has tons to learn about 'the system'.
Wow. If he were my dad, I would call the bank and let them know the house is listed now. He is going to end up losing everything with his scheming. You probally don't have the money to pay all his bills, so please be proactive.
Misogynistic implies discrimination or negative thoughts based on gender. The underwriter is a woman and the broker is a man, but why would that mean the broker is being misogynistic? Maybe he really does think the underwriter did a poor job.
But either way... what would you complain about? Your dad was denied by the underwriter and the broker has told you that she didn't do her job well. But you don't have any firm evidence that she made mistakes. All you have is heresay. So I wouldn't complain, or worry about misogyny.
I dont think it was mysongyny. It was sales. He threw her under the bus to act as though he was the hero and could get it done where the other person could not. Common sales technique.
It sounds like both are greedy, commission based positions that are specially designed to take advatnage of the elderly.
The UW had to turn down the deal based on income - the broker wanted it put through anyway, then the UW tried to show your dad how to go around the rules of income, the broker was ok with that part of it. They would both get thier cut of the commission.
When you brought up the listing and extra income it became clear to the broker that you were not in support of the deal and that you knew enough about the rules to cause problems, that's when he backed off the deal. It became more headache than it was worth. On to the next elderly person that may not have involved family to look after dads best interests. Bottom feeding bastards.
It isn't misogyny. Misogyny is the hatred of women/girls simply because they are females. It sounds to me like it is just a broker trying to get a client by any means possible. He doesn't care about your father...he just wants to do his job...which is to make money for the bank. If you feel he is unethical in his job, then write a letter to his superior. Good luck.
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The broker is trying to make money....plain and simple.
I'm no expert on re-fi's (although when we had a mortgage we did refi)
but I think if it's a rental property he's trying to re-fi (which it is, since he is living with you) and not his primary residence the rates are going to be much different. To save money, it probably has to "appear" to be his primary residence? So--yes--the broker is unethical.
Wondering why your renting sibling is not just buying the house or at least taking over the payments/utilities?
Your father would probably be better off getting an equity loan to pay off the house and those rates WILL be lower, I believe.
And hope to GOD he stays away from the dreaded "reverse mortgage"!
Sorry to be pessimistic, but no mortgage broker or banker is "trying to do the right thing for your Dad". They are trying to make money, any way they can. You need to stay involved and attempt to help your Dad do what is best for him. Can you go with him to talk to an experienced real estate agent and mortgage broker and attempt to get all the facts?
I'm no expert on these matters, but, as the broker said, I doubt any institution is going to refinance a house while it is up for sale. I think your dad needs to pick one strategy here, either sell the house or attempt to refinance it. Refinancing seems the riskier of the two, but selling is not easy in this housing market, either.
He probably just wants the deal to go through for his potential client, I don't think it has to do with the underwriter being a woman at all. I'm sure he would have said the same thing if he was a man! I'm in sales and always do my best to accept responsibility on behalf of the company, even if a different division or department messed up for the client, but not everyone is this way. It's gotta be frustrating with dad making bad decisions.
I am really confused as to what you are asking here.
What was he trying to do, he was trying to get your dad to fudge a few things so he can get the broker fee, the gender of the underwriter is irrelevant.
What do you want to write a complaint letter about? Your father was declined as he should be with the information you provided.
Refinancing does not make sense if he's selling the house.
Is the house underwater (worth less than it's mortgaged for) and selling it won't finish off the mortgage?
If he's living with you, why can't he rent out the house for enough rent to cover his mortgage payment?
I don't think misogyny applies here.
The broker would act the same regardless of the sex of the underwriter.
He's covering his behind and would throw anyone under a bus to do so.
If Dad's living with you and you are caring for him, you might want to have him see a doctor if he's making some bad financial decisions (is he in early dementia stages?).
You might want to seek a durable power of attorney for your Dad so you'll be making some of his decisions for him.
http://www.agingcare.com/Articles/what-is-durable-power-o...
If you are concerned with this broker's business practices, I advise that you report it to your state's Division of Finance. In Missouri, our state DoF will quickly investigate the practices of any lending institution attempting to give a loan to a customer under fraudelent information.
I would also contact the underwriter (who would really lose in this situation) and let them know about the lender's practices.
