Went through something similar last year—changed jobs mid-refi, and they definitely gave me the third degree on income stability. Weirdly though, once they saw it was a promotion in the same field, things smoothed out. Maybe lenders see certain job moves as less risky...?
Had a similar experience when we refinanced a couple years back. I'd just switched companies, same industry but slightly different role, and they grilled me pretty hard on job security and income consistency. Once I provided a detailed letter from HR confirming it was a step up career-wise, things relaxed noticeably. Seems lenders really do prefer seeing upward moves within the same field—probably signals stability to them...
That's a good observation—lenders definitely prefer seeing career progression within the same industry. From what I've seen, they're mostly concerned about predictability of income. Even if your new role pays better, lenders might hesitate if they think there's uncertainty or volatility involved. I've had clients who switched industries entirely and faced even tougher scrutiny... seems lenders really value consistency and familiarity. Providing clear documentation, like your HR letter, can make a huge difference in reassuring them.
I learned this the hard way a couple years ago when I switched from a steady, boring accounting job to something way cooler (at least I thought so)—marketing for a tech startup. Even though my income jumped up, the lender looked at me like I'd just announced I was joining the circus. They grilled me on job security, stability, and kept asking for more documentation. Felt like they were convinced I'd be unemployed within weeks!
In the end, what really helped was giving them a detailed HR letter that spelled out my role, salary structure, bonuses...basically everything short of my shoe size. So yeah, totally agree that lenders crave predictability. If you're changing jobs right before refinancing, brace yourself for extra scrutiny and paperwork. On the bright side, at least now I have some funny stories about explaining my career choices to skeptical loan officers...
Haha, I feel this pain. When I was applying for my first mortgage, I'd just switched from teaching to freelance graphic design—talk about lenders looking at you sideways. They acted like I'd told them I was planning to finance the house by selling homemade candles on Etsy. Ended up having to show them a mountain of invoices, client emails, and even screenshots of my PayPal account...I'm pretty sure they knew more about my finances than I did by the end of it. Glad I'm not the only one who got interrogated!
