The Message Robert Love Wants Every Realtor to Remember This Week

When a buyer gets turned down for financing the instinct is to assume the deal is over. Robert Love wants realtors to pause before sending that buyer back to the sidelines for six months or a year because in many cases the issue is not that the borrower cannot qualify. The issue is that they were put into the wrong mortgage product.

Why Denials Happen Even When the Borrower Is Qualified

Traditional mortgage underwriting was built around a specific borrower profile. W-2 employment. Two years of tax returns showing consistent qualifying income. A debt-to-income ratio that fits within standard guidelines. That framework works well for a significant portion of buyers and leaves a meaningful portion of genuinely qualified borrowers on the outside looking in.

Business owners whose tax returns show a fraction of actual income after legitimate deductions. Real estate investors whose personal income looks modest relative to their portfolio and cash flow. Borrowers with substantial liquid assets who are not currently earning traditional employment income. High-net-worth individuals with complex financial structures that do not translate cleanly into conventional documentation requirements.

None of those borrowers are unqualified. They are simply being evaluated through a framework that was not designed for them.

What Non-QM Programs Can Do

Non-QM lending exists specifically to evaluate these borrowers through a different lens. Bank statement loans qualify self-employed borrowers based on twelve or twenty-four months of deposits rather than tax returns. Asset depletion programs calculate qualifying income from liquid assets and investment accounts. DSCR programs for investment property purchases qualify based on the property’s cash flow rather than the borrower’s personal income. Profit and loss loans use a CPA-prepared statement to reflect actual business performance.

The difference between a dead deal and a closing is sometimes simply knowing where else to look and having a lender with access to the right programs to look there.

What Realtors Should Do Before Sending a Buyer Back to the Sidelines

Call Robert Love before assuming the deal cannot be saved. He will take a second look at the file, identify whether the borrower was placed in the wrong product, and tell you directly whether there is another path to closing.

Not every denial has a solution. But enough of them do that the call is worth making before the transaction is abandoned entirely.

Reach out to Robert Love at 515-805-8870 to get a second opinion on any file where financing has fallen through.

Sources

ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau.gov
MortgageNewsDaily.com
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
FannieMae.com
Investopedia.com