I need your advice

[Jaycoguy234]

What is the name of your state? CA

We are a small income tax preparation office. Lately we came across a troublesome situation because of a mortgage loan application of a client.

About two weeks ago we received a phone call from a woman who claimed to be the loan agent of our client. She requested us to verify that the client was self-employed in 2002 and 2003. But after looking over the file of the client, he was only a wage-earner in those two years. So I told the loan agent that we cannot verify that the client is self-employed in 2002 and 2003. The woman was kind of pissed off. When I tried to ask for her mailing address so I could send her a letter to follow up the conversation, she started yelling at me and said things like I refused to help the client and therefore the client couldn't get the loan. She also argued there was no reason I needed to write to her since I have refused to help. She hanged up the phone without giving me her mailing address.

Afterward, I called the client and asked him why he would tell the loan agent to call us knowing that there was no way we could verify for him. He said it was not his idea and he didn't know why the loan agent would do that.

Today somehow I found out the loan has gone through. Now I am worried that the loan agent might have fudged what I said on the phone. She might have lied that I have helped to verify for the client in order to push the loan to go through.

I want to know what you would do under the situation to protect yourself. I am thinking to send her a written letter so I can once again clarify that I have not verified for the client that he was self-employed in those two years. But the problem is that I don't even have her mailing address. I tried to look up her information on the internet but all I found is an email address. I tried to ask the client but he refused to tell me. Now it seems to me the only way I can send something in writing to her is by email. Is an email as good as a paper letter under the circumstance?

I know I might sound a little paranoid. But i just worried in case something happen in the future, she would lie and insist that I have verified for the client while I can only insist that I have not done it without any proof. I want something in my hand to prove that I have exerted a reasonable effort to clarify to her that I cannot help the client to verify that he was self-employed in those two years. Would an email do it?

One more important question. How likely do you guys think the loan agent has really twisted what I said so the mortgage loan could have been approved? Or is it possible that she could get the loan through by other ways?

Any advice will be appreciated. Happy thanksgiving everyone.

 

[kingston]

Although the loan officer may have been pissed off about you not being able to verify the fact that the borrower has been self employed. There are other ways to prove someone is self employed or perhaps the loan officer realized that the borrowers can get a better rateloan using their wage earner status. Bottom line she found another way to document the employment of the borrowers. I wouldn't be concerned about liability based on a simple phone call. Now if the Loan Officer fudged any documents that would be at her own peril but as I see there are many ways to document self employed income so she probably took an alternate route.

 

[MortgageGuru]

It sounds like the borrower is now self employed. An underwriter can make exceptions if there is enough evidence to show the borrower's income is stable and not likely to decrease due to the status change. If that was not the case in this matter then the loan officer would have had to have something in writing to verify the time as self employed. It is possible that she got a letter from the employer detailing the way the employee was paid. In many cases there is little difference in gross income, particularly for commission based employees. You should not have anything to worry about since everything was done verbally. Worst case scenario is if fraud has occurred, the first people they will speak with is the underwriter and loan officer. You did exactly as you should have done. It is NEVER acceptable to lie or misrepresent any facts.