"Usually, bank statements covering the last two months are standard, but investment or retirement accounts might come into play if you're using them for reserves or down payment."
Yeah, that's pretty much been my experience too. Funny thing is, I once had a lender ask about a random $500 deposit from selling an old guitar on Craigslist. Had to dig up screenshots of messages and everything—felt like a detective trying to prove I wasn't secretly laundering money through vintage instruments, haha.
But seriously, I get why lenders are picky. Still, sometimes it feels like overkill. Like, does a small PayPal transfer from your buddy really matter that much? Guess it's better than the alternative though—imagine if they weren't careful and we ended up in another 2008 situation. No thanks.
One thing I'm curious about though: has anyone had issues with crypto holdings? I've heard mixed things about lenders accepting crypto as proof of assets or reserves. A friend of mine tried using his Bitcoin stash as part of his reserves, and the lender acted like he was offering Monopoly money. He eventually had to cash it out into his checking account just to satisfy them. Wondering if that's common or if he just got unlucky with a super old-school lender.
Anyway, moral of the story: keep records of everything—bank statements, brokerage accounts, even that birthday check from grandma. You never know what's gonna raise eyebrows...
