Author Topic: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!  (Read 20525 times)

SoccerLounge

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No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« on: November 30, 2016, 09:11:39 PM »
So I'm in the process of moving house right now, and am inching toward finalizing the mortgage for the new place. Recently, I got one of those emails that asks for a couple extra pieces of evidence for the underwriters. Pretty standard stuff. Except for one of them, which I found extremely amusing and wanted to share with you all:

Quote from: Mortgage Company email
"2. The underwriters have a question concerning your transportation status. You sold your {car} on {date} this year per the deposits to your bank. But the underwriters do not see a current lien or otherwise active auto loan on your credit reports to indicate current ownership of a vehicle. Please explain this omission in writing."

Yep: the only acceptable way one can own a vehicle is by taking out a loan to buy one. And this loan must remain active, and never be paid off. Otherwise? Well, you're probably one of those people, and need to submit a special explanation, lest your mortgage not be approved. (After all, those people do things like pay off mortgages early and cost us interest profits, and we can't have that...)

PS: In my letter of reply, I was tempted to only talk about my bicycle and not even mention my cash-purchased economy car. But I didn't feel like losing the mortgage over giving into the temptation to snark about idiotic financial assumptions. That's what this forum is for, after all. ;)

englyn

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2016, 09:35:48 PM »
Wow.

dios.del.sol

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2016, 09:55:06 PM »
Hilarious!

elysianfields

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2016, 03:12:39 AM »
Amazing.  And here I was beginning to think, given the growing numbers of Mustachians in this forum, that a quiet revolution was taking place.

Then again, MMM himself has an auto loan.

I'm a red panda

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2016, 05:12:55 AM »
That's crazy! We've never had a car loan and never had trouble with underwriting.

Linea_Norway

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2016, 05:35:12 AM »
Very weird indeed. I did not realize that having a car loan had become so normal that everyone is supposed to have one.

When we were buying our house, we had to write down for the broker how we were thinking to finance the house. That financing plan did not include a mortgage on the new house. I had expected questions about that, but they didn't come, strangely enough.

Chris22

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2016, 07:35:49 AM »
Put down the pitchforks, guys.  This sort of due diligence is what these guys are supposed to be doing.  The reason for the inquiry is they want to make sure that you didn't have a family member purchase the car on behalf of you so you could keep the loan off of your credit report, or that you are planning to obtain a new loan the week after you buy the house, or other shadiness/things that might affect your credit worthiness.  People got all bent out of shape when underwriters acted as a pump instead of a filter, now that they're trying to at least appear like a filter again you're all getting all indignant.  I swear half of Mustachianism is griping about how "no one notices I'm a more responsible person than them" and the other half is complaining "someone noticed I did something different and now they're asking about it!"  A simple two-line response about "I purchased XXX car in cash on YYY date for which you can see the withdrawl on bank statement ZZZ" will suffice.

talltexan

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2016, 07:47:02 AM »
The next level is where the mortgage team says, "You're listing two incomes on this application, but we only see one car loan. How is the second worker getting to their job?"

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2016, 07:48:35 AM »
I was thinking along the same lines as Chris22. Suppose I sold my car for $12,000 cash prior to securing a mortgage to help fund the down payment and remove an outstanding loan from my credit report. Then immediately after closing, I buy another car with 100% financing. I'm not necessarily as credit-worthy as I originally appeared, am I? I think this is a legitimate question to ask depending on when the car sale took place.

Chris22

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2016, 07:59:33 AM »
The next level is where the mortgage team says, "You're listing two incomes on this application, but we only see one car loan. How is the second worker getting to their job?"

So what if they do?  If they deny you a loan, that's one thing, but don't you think that's a perfectly responsible question to inquire about?

zephyr911

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2016, 08:15:09 AM »
Put down the pitchforks, guys.  This sort of due diligence is what these guys are supposed to be doing.

Party pooper.

mtn

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2016, 08:24:37 AM »
Chris22, I think I agree with about 99.99% of your posts. This one is no different.

We were asked a couple of similar questions on our mortgage application. I think ours was something along the lines of "How many vehicles do you own" and "How do you own them" with options to select 0-5, and Lease, Own with loan, or own outright.

And I think we did have to show the receipt for the vehicle, because I paid cash and it showed on my bank statements as a gigantic withdrawal and no subsequent deposit.

Hell, I even think that we had a question asking if there were any loans on anything else "including lawnmowers, appliances, electronics" etc. Also not a crazy question.

Metric Mouse

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2016, 08:39:34 AM »
I've never heard of a lawnmower loan... I should really learn how to capitalize on leverage

mtn

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2016, 08:46:21 AM »
I've never heard of a lawnmower loan... I should really learn how to capitalize on leverage

http://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/cubcadet/apply-financing

Kitsune

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2016, 09:37:17 AM »
Hell, I even think that we had a question asking if there were any loans on anything else "including lawnmowers, appliances, electronics" etc. Also not a crazy question.

... Electronics loan??

I mean, I noticed that the local store offered a "0% financing or 15% off!" deal (it's not 0% in that case, but anyway) on appliances... but electronics?? WTF do you need that you need to finance so badly??

Chris22

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2016, 09:46:30 AM »
Hell, I even think that we had a question asking if there were any loans on anything else "including lawnmowers, appliances, electronics" etc. Also not a crazy question.

... Electronics loan??

I mean, I noticed that the local store offered a "0% financing or 15% off!" deal (it's not 0% in that case, but anyway) on appliances... but electronics?? WTF do you need that you need to finance so badly??

I owe ~$1.5k on the electronics in my basement (TV and surround sound) at this moment.  It's at 0%.  I could have easily taken money out of savings and run it as a debit, but instead I had an open line of credit at the store (was the same one I bought all my appliances from, also at 0%) so I used it, and I'll just make $300 payments or whatever for a few months until the loan is gone.  It's laziness, but harmless laziness.

FYI, there was no "or 15% off!" discount offered, it was 0% financing or nothing.

mtn

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #16 on: December 01, 2016, 10:37:17 AM »
Hell, I even think that we had a question asking if there were any loans on anything else "including lawnmowers, appliances, electronics" etc. Also not a crazy question.

... Electronics loan??

I mean, I noticed that the local store offered a "0% financing or 15% off!" deal (it's not 0% in that case, but anyway) on appliances... but electronics?? WTF do you need that you need to finance so badly??

The only thing I've ever needed "to finance so badly" was my house. And even that, I didn't need to finance because I could have rented if I wanted to.

And yet, I've financed a vacation on a credit card (points+0% for 13 months), a large Christmas gift purchase at a store (mostly donated toys), and I'm not including anything that is normally on my credit card. Debt is a very valuable tool. If someone is offering me 0% financing on a large purchase, there is a decent chance I'll take it.

There is a difference between buying something because there is financing available, and using financing because it is available. And the lenders know that too--but that is why they ask the questions.

patchyfacialhair

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #17 on: December 01, 2016, 12:35:34 PM »
I mean...our lord and savior himself espouses efficiency in the highest regard, as evidenced by his most recent blog post. Nothing wrong with financing at 0% for something you were going to buy anyways.

We're going through the mortgage process now and nothing strikes me as too "anti-mustachian." In fact, I posted in my journal about how it's much easier than I expected*. Are they really just giving out mortgages willy-nilly? I'd almost prefer a little more scrutiny.

*At this point I've only been asked to provide 2 paystubs for each of us and an insurance policy binder. We haven't had to answer any questions about transportation or bank account activity at all.

mtn

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #18 on: December 01, 2016, 12:50:50 PM »
I mean...our lord and savior himself espouses efficiency in the highest regard, as evidenced by his most recent blog post. Nothing wrong with financing at 0% for something you were going to buy anyways.

We're going through the mortgage process now and nothing strikes me as too "anti-mustachian." In fact, I posted in my journal about how it's much easier than I expected*. Are they really just giving out mortgages willy-nilly? I'd almost prefer a little more scrutiny.

*At this point I've only been asked to provide 2 paystubs for each of us and an insurance policy binder. We haven't had to answer any questions about transportation or bank account activity at all.

You probably will have to eventually. When we first started the application it was incredibly easy, and our preapproval was done in minutes with only 1 paystub each. After the preapproval and the offer, we had to provide bank statements and paystubs going back 2 months, tax returns, and something else that was a pain in the butt but I can't remember right now. Maybe prior employers certification that I worked there? I seem to remember that being difficult.

Chris22

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #19 on: December 01, 2016, 01:00:48 PM »
I mean...our lord and savior himself espouses efficiency in the highest regard, as evidenced by his most recent blog post. Nothing wrong with financing at 0% for something you were going to buy anyways.

We're going through the mortgage process now and nothing strikes me as too "anti-mustachian." In fact, I posted in my journal about how it's much easier than I expected*. Are they really just giving out mortgages willy-nilly? I'd almost prefer a little more scrutiny.

*At this point I've only been asked to provide 2 paystubs for each of us and an insurance policy binder. We haven't had to answer any questions about transportation or bank account activity at all.

You probably will have to eventually. When we first started the application it was incredibly easy, and our preapproval was done in minutes with only 1 paystub each. After the preapproval and the offer, we had to provide bank statements and paystubs going back 2 months, tax returns, and something else that was a pain in the butt but I can't remember right now. Maybe prior employers certification that I worked there? I seem to remember that being difficult.

When we bought our current house, we were staying with family and saving VERY aggressively.  So aggressively that we had huge portions of our paychecks directed into savings, and would occasionally run checking into the red so it was covered by our overdraft line of credit.  No big deal, just move money back to cover and repay the LOC immediately.  But the mortgage co. found that VERY concerning, so I had to write a letter and get on a call with them to explain, look, I have $XX,XXX in my savings account, $X,XXX more is going in every week, yes, sometimes, I spend a little more on the weekend than I thought and have to move it back to cover on Monday.  BFD.

MgoSam

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #20 on: December 01, 2016, 01:01:33 PM »
Pre-approval was insanely easy for me, the actual mortgage process required a lot more paperwork. I know they called my employer to ensure that I would be employed for the forseeable future and did more checks.


MilesTeg

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #21 on: December 01, 2016, 01:30:47 PM »
So I'm in the process of moving house right now, and am inching toward finalizing the mortgage for the new place. Recently, I got one of those emails that asks for a couple extra pieces of evidence for the underwriters. Pretty standard stuff. Except for one of them, which I found extremely amusing and wanted to share with you all:

Quote from: Mortgage Company email
"2. The underwriters have a question concerning your transportation status. You sold your {car} on {date} this year per the deposits to your bank. But the underwriters do not see a current lien or otherwise active auto loan on your credit reports to indicate current ownership of a vehicle. Please explain this omission in writing."

Yep: the only acceptable way one can own a vehicle is by taking out a loan to buy one. And this loan must remain active, and never be paid off. Otherwise? Well, you're probably one of those people, and need to submit a special explanation, lest your mortgage not be approved. (After all, those people do things like pay off mortgages early and cost us interest profits, and we can't have that...)

PS: In my letter of reply, I was tempted to only talk about my bicycle and not even mention my cash-purchased economy car. But I didn't feel like losing the mortgage over giving into the temptation to snark about idiotic financial assumptions. That's what this forum is for, after all. ;)

The underwriter didn't care if you had a car or not. He cared on whether or not you were reporting all your debts to him. It's not crazy for an underwriter to want to make sure you are reporting all your debts.

talltexan

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #22 on: December 01, 2016, 01:31:56 PM »
I wish it were always so simply as a 15% discount OR 0% financing. God, I'd love that 15% discount.

MilesTeg

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #23 on: December 01, 2016, 01:41:51 PM »
I mean...our lord and savior himself espouses efficiency in the highest regard, as evidenced by his most recent blog post. Nothing wrong with financing at 0% for something you were going to buy anyways.

We're going through the mortgage process now and nothing strikes me as too "anti-mustachian." In fact, I posted in my journal about how it's much easier than I expected*. Are they really just giving out mortgages willy-nilly? I'd almost prefer a little more scrutiny.

*At this point I've only been asked to provide 2 paystubs for each of us and an insurance policy binder. We haven't had to answer any questions about transportation or bank account activity at all.

Recently bought a house, and the mortgage process was still simple and easy (with ~800 credit). It was actually much, much easier than getting approved for renting an apartment, which was much more invasive.

The mortgage company just wanted 2-3 months worth of bank statements and 2 paystubs. The rental company wanted 2 years of tax returns, bank statements, paystubs, etc.

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #24 on: December 01, 2016, 02:49:46 PM »
Quote from: Mortgage Company email
"2. The underwriters have a question concerning your transportation status. You sold your {car} on {date} this year per the deposits to your bank. But the underwriters do not see a current lien or otherwise active auto loan on your credit reports to indicate current ownership of a vehicle. Please explain this omission in writing."

I agree with the point that the underwriters are doing their jobs, but the phrasing of the email is suggestive that they cannot fathom the lack of car loan or even a lack of car. "to indicate current ownership of a vehicle" does suggest that no lien or loan means no car. "Please explain this omission in writing" is pretty funny.

It would have been less note worthy if they'd simply said 'you sold your car and we don't see a loan for a new car, can you please confirm if you have taken out a car loan and if so provide the details'

Chris22

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #25 on: December 01, 2016, 02:51:42 PM »
Quote from: Mortgage Company email
"2. The underwriters have a question concerning your transportation status. You sold your {car} on {date} this year per the deposits to your bank. But the underwriters do not see a current lien or otherwise active auto loan on your credit reports to indicate current ownership of a vehicle. Please explain this omission in writing."

I agree with the point that the underwriters are doing their jobs, but the phrasing of the email is suggestive that they cannot fathom the lack of car loan or even a lack of car. "to indicate current ownership of a vehicle" does suggest that no lien or loan means no car. "Please explain this omission in writing" is pretty funny.

It would have been less note worthy if they'd simply said 'you sold your car and we don't see a loan for a new car, can you please confirm if you have taken out a car loan and if so provide the details'

I wonder if it would annoy people as much if they said " But the underwriters do not see a current lien or otherwise active auto loan on your credit reports or a large cash withdrawl suggesting a purchase."

MilesTeg

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #26 on: December 01, 2016, 02:58:25 PM »
Quote from: Mortgage Company email
"2. The underwriters have a question concerning your transportation status. You sold your {car} on {date} this year per the deposits to your bank. But the underwriters do not see a current lien or otherwise active auto loan on your credit reports to indicate current ownership of a vehicle. Please explain this omission in writing."

I agree with the point that the underwriters are doing their jobs, but the phrasing of the email is suggestive that they cannot fathom the lack of car loan or even a lack of car. "to indicate current ownership of a vehicle" does suggest that no lien or loan means no car. "Please explain this omission in writing" is pretty funny.

It would have been less note worthy if they'd simply said 'you sold your car and we don't see a loan for a new car, can you please confirm if you have taken out a car loan and if so provide the details'

Despite the phrasing it's still an overreaction. It's exceedingly rare for someone to sell their only car and not buy a replacement. Much more rare than simply not having one. An underwriter's job is to ensure you aren't trying to "cook the books" to make yourself financial situation look better (for example, by having someone else take a loan out for you). Any objective look at the situation would lead to enough reasonable suspicion to request clarification. The underwriter isn't making a qualitative judgment on your life choices, they are trying to prevent fraud.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #27 on: December 01, 2016, 06:20:09 PM »
Chris22, I think I agree with about 99.99% of your posts.


I had that thought about Chris22 last week. :D

SeaEhm

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #28 on: December 01, 2016, 07:18:54 PM »
Actually, this is interesting because my credit took a 10-12 point hit because I had not used my credit cards frequently enough.  They said that using the cards and paying it off is better than accounts being stationary. (I was only using one card because the rewards were so much better).  I put a little bit on each card and now my credit is better than ever. 

Now it states that my credit is negatively affected because I have too much money on my credit cards, haha  CAN THEY MAKE UP THEIR FREAKING MINDS!

Tighter lending is actually a good thing for everyone in the long run though.  The more layers of protection the better. It is annoying in the heat of the moment though.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2016, 07:26:31 PM by SeaEhm »

ender

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #29 on: December 01, 2016, 07:24:57 PM »
I owe ~$1.5k on the electronics in my basement (TV and surround sound) at this moment.  It's at 0%.  I could have easily taken money out of savings and run it as a debit, but instead I had an open line of credit at the store (was the same one I bought all my appliances from, also at 0%) so I used it, and I'll just make $300 payments or whatever for a few months until the loan is gone.  It's laziness, but harmless laziness.

FYI, there was no "or 15% off!" discount offered, it was 0% financing or nothing.

$1.5k on entertainment?

You heathen!

SeaEhm

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #30 on: December 01, 2016, 07:27:06 PM »
I owe ~$1.5k on the electronics in my basement (TV and surround sound) at this moment.  It's at 0%.  I could have easily taken money out of savings and run it as a debit, but instead I had an open line of credit at the store (was the same one I bought all my appliances from, also at 0%) so I used it, and I'll just make $300 payments or whatever for a few months until the loan is gone.  It's laziness, but harmless laziness.

FYI, there was no "or 15% off!" discount offered, it was 0% financing or nothing.

$1.5k on entertainment?

You heathen!

Better yet, it was a stereo system for his sports cars that isn't even his daily driver!  OH THE HORROR!

SoccerLounge

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #31 on: December 01, 2016, 07:52:24 PM »
I will have to head off the various amusing posts implying that I am a frothing-at-the-mouth frugality zealot by simply indicating that upon contact for clarification, it was confirmed that the underwriter did, in fact, think I probably didn't own another car just because I didn't have an active auto loan. (Their underlying concern was that I couldn't get to and from work to pay my mortgage, which is a fairly reasonable concern in itself.) The fact I simply owned another car outright apparently didn't occur to them until I politely pointed it out.

I'm not going to get into more detail to justify my amusement because, frankly, I don't feel like revealing all my personal status and financial information to the forum! Skeptical readers will just have to accept my word that it was something of an unusual and unreasonable request given my particular circumstances, even by the usual standards of mortgage underwriting. My lender was very surprised by it, that's for sure. I will just say this: I feel that the original question reflects less on the underwriter, who I'm sure was just trying to protect the lender as they should, and more on a culture in which borrowing large amounts of money to buy cars is so commonplace as to throw up a red flag if someone isn't doing it.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2016, 07:55:21 PM by SoccerLounge »

Chris22

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #32 on: December 01, 2016, 07:53:43 PM »
I owe ~$1.5k on the electronics in my basement (TV and surround sound) at this moment.  It's at 0%.  I could have easily taken money out of savings and run it as a debit, but instead I had an open line of credit at the store (was the same one I bought all my appliances from, also at 0%) so I used it, and I'll just make $300 payments or whatever for a few months until the loan is gone.  It's laziness, but harmless laziness.

FYI, there was no "or 15% off!" discount offered, it was 0% financing or nothing.

$1.5k on entertainment?

You heathen!

Better yet, it was a stereo system for his sports cars that isn't even his daily driver!  OH THE HORROR!

No no, the sports car has a much cheaper stereo system. This was for a 55" TV and matching sound bar for my basement.

Note custom made reclaimed wood shelf made by a friend.

ender

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #33 on: December 01, 2016, 07:56:11 PM »
:)

We also spent about $1k this year for a TV and TV stand so I can't really judge here :D

SeaEhm

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #34 on: December 01, 2016, 08:05:50 PM »
I like how the guy in Chris's photo is shaking his finger at him in all the glory of a 55" TV.

It's like he is face punching you on a large scale.  METRIC MOUSE!  This is what I was joking about in that thread, haha

Chris22

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #35 on: December 01, 2016, 08:23:06 PM »
Hey man, 55" is small potatoes these days :P. I woulda gone bigger but that's all the wall space I had.

ender

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #36 on: December 01, 2016, 08:25:45 PM »
Hey man, 55" is small potatoes these days :P. I woulda gone bigger but that's all the wall space I had.

Sounds like you need a bigger house for your man cave ;-)

Dicey

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #37 on: December 01, 2016, 08:35:44 PM »
In four years of marriage, DH and I have purchased four houses. Two for cash, two with mortgages. We also refinanced one rental property. OMG, in CA, they are all up in your Business! Each one was a different invasion of privacy. Yikes! We never intended to pay cash for our primary residence, but the bullshit just kept piling on. We findally looked at each other and said "Enough!" We paid cash and that was the end of that. We live in a HCOLA,  had just sold two houses, so yeah, we wrote, er, procured a Cashier's Check for $928k. It was kinda crazy fun to do, but we still wish we'd grabbed some of that cheap mortgage money.

Here's an example: My brother was buying a house. On the day before closing, his lender started demanding tons of documentation that simply wasn't available. He called me, guessing I was sitting on a ton o' cash ;-)
I transferred the entire purchase price into his account the next morning. (We use the same bank.) A week later, I had all the money back. Months later, our mortgage lender just did.not.get.it. Wanted me to do tons of explanation, get a "Gift Letter", blah x3. Seems if you deviate a fraction of a degree from their definition of normal, they just freak out.

Interestingly, we were never asked about cars, but they're all older and paid for, so no recent transactions, I guess?

gimp

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #38 on: December 01, 2016, 09:01:43 PM »
Shit, relatively quality 4K 55" TVs are like $500 these days. If you want one that's 1080p, that's cheaper. They're ... very affordable. If you need credit for a TV, you got serious shit wrong with you, though.

Also, Diane, as far as I understand, for tax purposes etc, you can lend huge sums to a family member / friend and get paid back shortly after, with no weird issues. The bank might want information for federal regulations, but I imagine you can basically tell them to fuck off.

SoccerLounge

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #39 on: December 01, 2016, 10:15:34 PM »
We live in a HCOLA,  had just sold two houses, so yeah, we wrote, er, procured a Cashier's Check for $928k.

HCOLA indeed! That would buy six of my house :)

Dicey

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #40 on: December 01, 2016, 11:43:18 PM »
We live in a HCOLA,  had just sold two houses, so yeah, we wrote, er, procured a Cashier's Check for $928k.

HCOLA indeed! That would buy six of my house :)
It's a clown house, to be sure, but DH's mom has Alzheimer's and lives with us. This house suits the needs of 4 adults (including 1 college-student offspring). It also has the advantage of being 3.5 blocks from DH's work. In the Bay Area, that's worth a fortune.

My first house cost $101k. It still shocks me that we can "afford" this place. You guys, this Mustachianism stuff works, it really works.

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #41 on: December 01, 2016, 11:47:25 PM »
I will have to head off the various amusing posts implying that I am a frothing-at-the-mouth frugality zealot by simply indicating that upon contact for clarification, it was confirmed that the underwriter did, in fact, think I probably didn't own another car just because I didn't have an active auto loan. (Their underlying concern was that I couldn't get to and from work to pay my mortgage, which is a fairly reasonable concern in itself.) The fact I simply owned another car outright apparently didn't occur to them until I politely pointed it out.

I'm not going to get into more detail to justify my amusement because, frankly, I don't feel like revealing all my personal status and financial information to the forum! Skeptical readers will just have to accept my word that it was something of an unusual and unreasonable request given my particular circumstances, even by the usual standards of mortgage underwriting. My lender was very surprised by it, that's for sure. I will just say this: I feel that the original question reflects less on the underwriter, who I'm sure was just trying to protect the lender as they should, and more on a culture in which borrowing large amounts of money to buy cars is so commonplace as to throw up a red flag if someone isn't doing it.

I believe you SoccerLounge; thanks for posting!

Tjat

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #42 on: December 02, 2016, 06:47:11 AM »
I tend to give UWs a pass here. The bank is loaning hundreds of thousands to people represented by a bunch of numbers. Asking details on things that look outside the norm seems to be a safe protocol.


Chris22

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #43 on: December 02, 2016, 06:55:14 AM »
Shit, relatively quality 4K 55" TVs are like $500 these days.

Not sure that's true outside of no-name Chinese brands or Black Friday sales.  That was the middle-line (base was ~$900 and top line $2400? I think) Sony and I think I paid $1200 or so for it in October.  But that came with $200 off of the matching sound bar I was planning on buying anyways. 

Greenback Reproduction Specialist

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #44 on: December 02, 2016, 12:51:20 PM »
Crazy... hard to believe so many people have auto loans. I cant imagine making payments on a car after not having a car payment for so long, but it was a tough habit to break at the time. Now I don't like making loan payments of any kind, mortgage payments drive me nuts and I cant wait to be done with those.

Slee_stack

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #45 on: December 02, 2016, 02:08:05 PM »
Crazy... hard to believe so many people have auto loans. I cant imagine making payments on a car after not having a car payment for so long, but it was a tough habit to break at the time. Now I don't like making loan payments of any kind, mortgage payments drive me nuts and I cant wait to be done with those.

I'm exactly the opposite.  If I'm not making payments, I can't help but think I'm missing out on my money working harder for me elsewhere.

Its temporary of course, but I'm still enjoying my third party 2% used car loan.  It was a whopping $7k.  I won't pay a dime extra ahead on it.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2016, 02:11:13 PM by Slee_stack »

TomTX

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #46 on: December 03, 2016, 05:08:26 PM »
Shit, relatively quality 4K 55" TVs are like $500 these days.

Not sure that's true outside of no-name Chinese brands or Black Friday sales.  That was the middle-line (base was ~$900 and top line $2400? I think) Sony and I think I paid $1200 or so for it in October.  But that came with $200 off of the matching sound bar I was planning on buying anyways.

I just checked on Costco.com and there's a 55" 4k Vizio for $529, plus some other deals I can't be arsed to log in to get the actual numbers.

Indexer

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #47 on: December 04, 2016, 08:01:27 AM »
Many years ago I used to work in a bank, and one day in a meeting the manager said, "Everyone has a car loan, we need to talk to them about it so we can refinance it for them."  Me, "I don't have a car loan."  Manager, "Right, everyone except you." 



I'm exactly the opposite.  If I'm not making payments, I can't help but think I'm missing out on my money working harder for me elsewhere.

Its temporary of course, but I'm still enjoying my third party 2% used car loan.  It was a whopping $7k.  I won't pay a dime extra ahead on it.

Leverage is great when it is <3%. I treat my mortgage the same way. No rush to pay it off. However, once interest rates start to tick up this won't be as lucrative on future loans. :(

Abe

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #48 on: December 04, 2016, 05:01:29 PM »
Getting a mortgage on my first house was a PITA, mostly because I hadn't used credit cards and had no car loan. The bank just wouldn't accept that, even with proof of title and our account balances.  We went to a mortgage broker that found some other bank that pretty much said "you're a doctor? Send us a pay stub from the hospital and we are happy".  I think the difference was I told them up front about my financial situation and lack of loans. Both are "reputable" banks as far as that means anything in banking.

More recently I had to replace our cars after 14 years of loyal service (thanks chicago). Both were purchased with 2% loans. We've more than covered the lending costs with stock market gains in that time period.

GetItRight

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Re: No active auto loan on his credit report? SUSPICIOUS!
« Reply #49 on: December 04, 2016, 06:08:08 PM »
Wow, I've never borrowed money for a car. I use credit cards for convenience and benefits, paid in full at least monthly. I was never asked about lack of buying a car I couldn't afford, but I guess it's a thing now.