We all know the days of the stated income stated assets (SISA) are gone.  If you want the bank to loan you part of the money to buy your new home, they actually want to know you can pay it back! 

According to recent reports, that might include looking at where your take-out pizza was delivered; who pays the power bill at the address you say you live at; and other methods of validating that you actually live in the home you say you do (say, for a refinance).

On-line shopping habits might give them a clue as to your income and spending habits.  Do you order from the high price boutiques or from the discount bins?  Do your purchases match the average person’s with your claimed income?

Lenders are actually pulling official copies of your taxes.  Do they match the copies you provided?  Same thing with bank accounts.  Are the numbers in agreement?

Credit score is no longer THE measure of credit worthiness in their eyes.  Private firms are being hired to discover “all that can be legally obtained” about you according to sources.  As long as it is not protected information or they do not discriminate on a protected basis (race, national origin, religion, etc) they are within their rights in their opinion.

To read an article on this very topic recently printed by the Los Angeles Times go to Yuba-Sutter Homes and Loans and click on the HOT NEWS icon.