Totally get where you’re coming from—every time I refinance, I swear the paperwork pile just gets taller. Here’s what I’ve noticed:
- Lenders seem to have their own “random doc” generator. One time, I got asked for a utility bill from an address I hadn’t lived at in years. Made zero sense.
- I’ve tried both approaches: giving them everything up front vs. waiting for them to ask. Honestly, neither feels less stressful. If you hand over too much, they’ll still find something else to request.
- Pushing back is fair, especially when the requests get weird. I’ve questioned a few and sometimes they just drop it, like they didn’t really need it anyway.
- The inconsistency is wild—some lenders barely glance at half the stuff, others want every page initialed and dated.
It’s not just you being stubborn. The process is just... messy. I keep telling myself it’s just part of the ride, but yeah, it never really gets easier. At least you’re not alone in the paperwork maze.
Lenders seem to have their own “random doc” generator.
Seriously, it’s like they spin a wheel and see what pops up. Last time, I had to dig up a pay stub from a job I left five years ago—like, what are they even checking for? And yeah, giving them everything upfront just means they’ll ask for something you never thought existed. I’ve started keeping a “mortgage docs” folder just for the chaos. At this point, I half expect them to request my kindergarten report card...
I totally get the “random doc” feeling—last time I refinanced, they wanted a letter explaining a $200 deposit from two years ago. Like, who remembers that? I’m curious, has anyone ever actually pushed back on a weird doc request and had the lender drop it? Or do they always insist? Sometimes I wonder if they’re just testing our patience...
Honestly, I’ve tried pushing back a couple times—once they wanted a signed letter from my grandma confirming a $150 Venmo transfer. I asked if they were serious and, to my surprise, they just dropped it. But most of the time, they dig in their heels. I swear, half these requests feel like a scavenger hunt for documents nobody keeps. Has anyone ever had a lender actually *lose* paperwork and then blame you for it? That’s happened to me twice now...
That scavenger hunt feeling is all too familiar. I once had a lender ask for three years’ worth of utility bills to “verify residency,” even though they already had my lease and bank statements. A week later, they claimed I never sent them—turns out, their system just lost the uploads. It’s wild how often the burden falls back on us to prove we did everything right. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just a tactic to see who gives up first...