Mortgage denied because temporary residency expires?!

[Rob and Jill 82]

"The loan could be taken in the USCs name & the immigrant put on the deed later by using a quit claim document."

For an extra fees including or up to additional closing costs.

If at all possible, wait it out or find another lender.

[kalia3333 1]

I have been in the mortgage industry for about eleven years now worked for brokers, lenders and hard money. You name it I have done it. Now I am a Paralegal at a Lender. So I can give you thoughts to this. Our money our rules, we underwrite and approve only loans with minimal risk. You can not get a lawyer and fight that. When I worked for a private hard money lender we would lend on a student visa with forty percent down. We knew if they left we could still recoup our money and sell the home. It actually happened to us once. Most likely once you get a new card with a new date it will be approved. You just may have to wait a little while to buy your house. They are seeing the card and thinking it may not renew. High Risk. You must understand the mortgage companies with their laxed guidelines screwed up bad and have lost a lot so now they want to have strong underwriting guidelines. It is a risk factor that the lender is assuming. Can you husband or wife qualifies on their own? Did you go to a direct lender to get this loan or a broker? And may I ask what Lender? I hope this makes sense to you. Welcome to email me and I can have some other ideas for you as far as lenders.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

I have been in the mortgage industry for about eleven years now worked for brokers, lenders and hard money. You name it I have done it. Now I am a Paralegal at a Lender. So I can give you thoughts to this. Our money our rules, we underwrite and approve only loans with minimal risk. You can not get a lawyer and fight that. When I worked for a private hard money lender we would lend on a student visa with forty percent down. We knew if they left we could still recoup our money and sell the home. It actually happened to us once. Most likely once you get a new card with a new date it will be approved. You just may have to wait a little while to buy your house. They are seeing the card and thinking it may not renew. High Risk. You must understand the mortgage companies with their laxed guidelines screwed up bad and have lost a lot so now they want to have strong underwriting guidelines. It is a risk factor that the lender is assuming. Can you husband or wife qualifies on their own? Did you go to a direct lender to get this loan or a broker? And may I ask what Lender? I hope this makes sense to you. Welcome to email me and I can have some other ideas for you as far as lenders.

I disagree.

https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/formsdocs/forms/1003.jsp

Noncitizen Applicants: If an applicant indicates in his response to Question J that he is not a U.S. citizen, and also indicates in his response to Question K that he is not a permanent resident alien, the lender may wish to ask whether he is a nonpermanent resident alien or otherwise is lawfully present in the United States. Fannie Mae will purchase loans where the borrower is not a U.S. citizen provided that the borrower is lawfully present in the United States. We do not designate specific documentation that is required to establish lawful presence. Lenders should consult their counsel or other sources for information on standard documents that can be used to establish lawful presence. An Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) alone does not establish either that the holder is lawfully present or that he is not lawfully present. Fannie Mae does not require that the borrower have a Social Security Number.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

You are kidding right? There is NOTHING discriminatory about a bank not willing to lend money to an individual who's long-term legal status is not certain, regardless of the 1 year LPR extension. Lending is all about mitigating risk and while I'm sure the OP is a great person and their case will be approved, as a lender it would be a NON-DISCRIMINATORY red flag until the her 10 yr GC is approved (less risk). This risk can be reduced of course via many ways (i.e. large downpayment, USC income/credit (LPR income not factored due to status uncertainty), co-signers, etc).

Certainly shop around if the bank denies the loan, but don't call it discrimination because its not. Its common sense really.

No I'm not kidding.

Aliens don't muck about getting a green card for no reason, you know. A permanent resident is a permanent resident. They have the same rights (save for voting) as any US citizen.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/FHLaws/yourrights.cfm

In Mortgage Lending: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (disability):

* Refuse to make a mortgage loan

* Refuse to provide information regarding loans

* Impose different terms or conditions on a loan, such as different interest rates, points, or fees

* Discriminate in appraising property

* Refuse to purchase a loan or

* Set different terms or conditions for purchasing a loan.

Edited March 16, 2010 by JohnnyQuest

[L_n_O 3]

I bought our first home in Nov 2008. I'm just filing ROC now.. Not sure if that helps but thought the reference might help.

[lucyrich 20]

No I'm not kidding.

Aliens don't muck about getting a green card for no reason, you know. A permanent resident is a permanent resident. They have the same rights (save for voting) as any US citizen.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/FHLaws/yourrights.cfm

In Mortgage Lending: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (disability):

* Refuse to make a mortgage loan

* Refuse to provide information regarding loans

* Impose different terms or conditions on a loan, such as different interest rates, points, or fees

* Discriminate in appraising property

* Refuse to purchase a loan or

* Set different terms or conditions for purchasing a loan.

Yep, they're prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (disability). But immigration status isn't among those listed things, so it doesn't put one into a "protected class". They are NOT prohibited from discriminating based on any grounds other than those listed, even if the other grounds are unfair. For example, a lender might lend only to left-handed people. That would be unfair, morally wrong, indefensible, and wouldn't make much business sense, but it wouldn't be against the law. Being left-handed doesn't put you into a protected class, just like being a conditional permanent resident doesn't put you into a protected class.

Discrimination based on citizenship status, current nationality, or immigration status is NOT against the law. It may not be right, it may not be fair, but it's not illegal. The government does it all the time (voting, certain government jobs, security clearances, etc.)

That said, it may be worth clarifying to the lender that you DO have valid legal immigration status. They may have misunderstood the meaning of the expiration of the conditional green card. If it's explained to them properly, they might reconsider and not use that grounds to deny the loan. But they're under no legal obligation to do so.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Yep, they're prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (disability). But immigration status isn't among those listed things, so it doesn't put one into a "protected class". They are NOT prohibited from discriminating based on any grounds other than those listed, even if the other grounds are unfair. For example, a lender might lend only to left-handed people. That would be unfair, morally wrong, indefensible, and wouldn't make much business sense, but it wouldn't be against the law. Being left-handed doesn't put you into a protected class, just like being a conditional permanent resident doesn't put you into a protected class.

Discrimination based on citizenship status, current nationality, or immigration status is NOT against the law. It may not be right, it may not be fair, but it's not illegal. The government does it all the time (voting, certain government jobs, security clearances, etc.)

That said, it may be worth clarifying to the lender that you DO have valid legal immigration status. They may have misunderstood the meaning of the expiration of the conditional green card. If it's explained to them properly, they might reconsider and not use that grounds to deny the loan. But they're under no legal obligation to do so.

The lender cannot deny the loan based upon their misunderstanding of immigration status. THAT is where the discrimination lies. They would be within their rights to ask to see the extension letter. They would be within their rights to deny the loan if the alien does not have a satisfactory credit history or work experience. They cannot deny based upon a false impression.

Fannie Mae clearly states they will buy a loan made to aliens. You don't even have to be a permanent resident. I've heard before of lenders giving the excuse that the loan is not negotiable in the marketplace and that is bunk.

I once queried a bank on this very matter by asking their underwriters to contact FNMA directly. They came back to me with an apology and an offer to make the mortgage.

I really don't believe a legal resident should take this kind of thing lying down.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

http://www.movesmart.org/guides/title/undocumented-immigrants-and-discrimination

The Fair Housing Act protects discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin. Claims on the basis of legal status or alienage are not protected, however, these types of discrimination are often due to national origin, which is protected.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

And aside from that, there's reality. As in real life.

For example, for ridiculous reasons of being politically correct, one is not allowed to specify a certain race, or age, or gender, when wanting to rent out a house or apartment, or hiring for a job.

If I'm a landlord, more specific an old Lady in her 70s, wanting to rent out the small guesthouse in the back of my property to a single girl between the ages of 35 to 50, and I want her to be as white as I am, I can't phrase that, as it would violate the law. So my add reads: "guest house for rent to one person only." The consequence is that many people of all ages, genders, and ethnic backgrounds waste their time leaving work early and coming by and applying for said house, but I'm renting it out to whomever I want to rent it out: the single white girl between age 35 and 50.

Or, let's say I operate a Chinese laundry in Chinatown, and God dammed, I want a Chinese girl to help me, not a Mexican guy. But I can't say "Chinese girl" wanted. So if the Mexican guy comes, I don't hire him, I hire the Chinese girl, and the Mexican guy, and the white guy, and the black guy, and girl, all wasted their time, thanks to that stupid law. It's not about discrimination, it's about PREFERENCE! If the Chinese guy prefers a Chinese girl for the job, that doesn't mean he hates other races, or guys, it means just what it means: he prefers a Chinese girl of a certain age for his Chinese clients. His business, his clients, his money, his decision.

A final example of many: if I have a law firm in a Hispanic neighborhood, with mostly Mexican or Puerto Rican or whatever population, I want to hire a lawyer or paralegal of exactly that background. But I can't do so, by law. Hence I have to advertise that position and many people waste their time applying, as I am hiring exactly whom I intend to hire: the Mexican or Puerto Rican lawyer or paralegal.

Some with lending. I don't know how Fanny May, after almost being killed by the recent financial crisis, handles it, but if I'm a lender and I don't want to lend my money to anybody but US citizens of a certain risk group, or profession, or whatever, I do just that. That doesn't mean that I tell 'em my criteria; it just means that I don't lend them money because I do not want to assume the financial risk. End of story.