- Had the same thing happen during my last refi—lender wanted utility bills from a house I sold in 2018.
- Politely asked if they were planning to time travel and inspect my old water meter.
- They dropped it after a day of “checking with underwriting.”
- Staying organized is key, but yeah, sometimes you just gotta call out the wild requests or you’ll be digging through boxes forever.
- Still waiting for them to ask for my kindergarten report card...
I’ve run into those weird document requests too—once they asked for proof of insurance on a car I traded in years ago. I get that lenders need to check boxes, but sometimes it feels like they’re just fishing. Staying organized does help, but at a certain point you have to push back or risk losing hours chasing down stuff that doesn’t even exist anymore. Funny how quickly they drop it when you question the logic.
- Totally hear you on the document scavenger hunt.
- I’ve noticed some lenders just default to requesting every doc under the sun, even if it’s not relevant.
- Staying organized is key, but I agree—sometimes you have to challenge what they're asking for or it never ends.
- Out of curiosity, has anyone actually had a lender push back hard when you questioned a weird request? Or do they usually just drop it once you call them out?
It really depends on the lender and sometimes even the specific underwriter you’re dealing with. I’ve seen both ends of it. Some will absolutely dig in their heels and insist on every single document, no matter how irrelevant it seems. Others, if you push back and ask them to clarify why they need something (especially if you point out it’s not standard for DSCR loans), will just quietly drop the request.
I usually recommend asking for the guideline or regulation that backs up their request. Nine times out of ten, if they can’t cite something concrete, they’ll back off. But there are those rare cases where they’re just following some internal checklist and won’t budge—then you have to decide if it’s worth fighting or just easier to provide the doc.
Honestly, half the time I think they’re just covering themselves in case an auditor comes knocking later. It can be a pain, but sometimes a little pushback saves you a lot of hassle down the line.
Getting Through the DSCR Loan Maze: My Step-by-Step and a Question
“Some will absolutely dig in their heels and insist on every single document, no matter how irrelevant it seems. Others, if you push back and ask them to clarify why they need something (especially if you point out it’s not standard for DSCR loans), will just quietly drop the request.”
This really resonates. I’ve had transactions where the underwriter wanted a year’s worth of utility bills for a property that was vacant half the time. It felt excessive, but when I asked for clarification, they just said it was “internal policy.” No actual guideline cited. In that case, I ended up providing the docs because the client was on a tight timeline and didn’t want to risk delays. Not ideal, but sometimes you have to weigh the hassle against the risk of jeopardizing the deal.
On another deal, I pushed back when they requested personal tax returns for a DSCR loan—completely outside the norm. I referenced their own published guidelines and, after a bit of back-and-forth, they dropped it. That saved my client a lot of unnecessary paperwork and stress.
I do think you’re right about underwriters covering themselves. There’s a lot of CYA going on, especially with lenders who’ve had issues in the past or are just more conservative by nature. It’s frustrating, but I get where they’re coming from—no one wants to be the one who missed something if there’s an audit down the road.
My approach now is to always ask for written clarification if something feels off. If they can’t provide it, I’ll gently push back. But if it’s clear they’re not going to budge, I’ll advise my clients to just provide what’s needed unless there’s a compelling reason not to. It’s not worth risking a closing over one extra document unless it’s truly unreasonable.
It’s definitely a balancing act. Sometimes you win by pushing back, sometimes you just have to pick your battles and keep things moving.