"second one grilled me about every Amazon purchase and random Venmo payment..."
Haha, glad I'm not alone! When I bought my first place earlier this year, my lender asked about a $12 Venmo payment labeled "pizza 🍕." Like, seriously? I joked that next time I'd label everything "responsible adulting" just to avoid the hassle. Definitely seems like each lender has their own quirks... guess it's part of the homebuying initiation process.
Yeah, lenders can get pretty nitpicky about that stuff. Had one client whose lender questioned a $7 Starbucks charge...like, is a latte really gonna derail the whole mortgage? Sometimes makes me wonder what they're really looking for.
I get what you're saying, but sometimes those small charges are just their way of making sure there's no hidden debt or recurring expenses that weren't disclosed. When I refinanced last year, my lender asked about an $8 Netflix charge—felt silly at first, but turns out they were just confirming it wasn't part of some larger monthly payment I'd forgotten to mention. It felt tedious, but I guess they're just covering all their bases...
I see your point, but honestly, lenders sometimes take this stuff way too far. I refinanced twice now, and the first time around, they grilled me about a $12 Spotify charge like it was some secret luxury yacht payment I was hiding. I get they're trying to be thorough, but there's a line between due diligence and just plain nitpicking. Small recurring charges are pretty common these days—Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime—it's not exactly suspicious spending. If lenders really want to streamline the process (and save us all some sanity), maybe they should focus more on actual red flags rather than chasing down every single subscription we have. Sure, they're covering their bases, but at some point it feels less like responsible lending and more like unnecessary hassle...
"they grilled me about a $12 Spotify charge like it was some secret luxury yacht payment I was hiding."
Haha, I genuinely laughed at this because I've seen it happen more times than you'd think. Lenders can be a bit overzealous, and yes, sometimes it feels like they're playing detective over the smallest details. But to be fair, they're often just ticking boxes for compliance and underwriting guidelines—it's less about suspicion and more about bureaucracy gone wild.
One practical tip I've found useful is to provide clear explanations upfront for recurring charges like subscriptions. A quick note or annotation on your bank statements can sometimes preemptively answer their questions and save you from the dreaded Spotify interrogation. It's annoying, sure, but a little proactive transparency can smooth things out.
Still, your point stands: lenders could definitely benefit from focusing their scrutiny on genuinely risky spending patterns rather than chasing down every latte or Netflix binge...
