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#579179 - 07/05/06 03:00 PM Joint Intent
ksm Offline
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ksm
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 302
Midwest
Two brothers come in to apply for a loan and since they have different assets & debts we have each of them complete a separate application. Do we need to mark joint intent on both applications and have each of them sign both applications in the joint intent statement area?

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Lending Compliance
#579180 - 07/05/06 03:07 PM Re: Joint Intent
Truffle Royale Offline

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You need to mark joint intent and they both have to sign at least once each. I don't think it matters if it's on the same application or not. fwiw, I would put both the borrowers' names on both applications and write "see attached" under the name of the brother whose information is not on that particular application.

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#579181 - 07/05/06 03:13 PM Re: Joint Intent
Dan Persfull Offline
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Dan Persfull
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Bloomington, IN
Quote:

Two brothers come in to apply for a loan and since they have different assets & debts we have each of them complete a separate application.




Do you require married applicants to do this? If not then you have a possible ECOA problem because you are treating non-married applicants differently than you do married applicants.
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The opinions expressed are mine and they are not to be taken as legal advice.

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#579182 - 07/05/06 03:27 PM Re: Joint Intent
Truffle Royale Offline

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Dan, I was headed toward ECOA too but then it occurred to me that putting it all on one application could be really messy. The brothers, unlike the married applicants, have no common property, accounts, etc., so I can see doing this for the sake of clarity. Therefore, couldn't you argue that you were doing it this way to treat the non and married applicants the same by giving equal weight to all parties' assets and debits? Or would that still be a possible ECOA problem?

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#579183 - 07/05/06 03:56 PM Re: Joint Intent
Dan Persfull Offline
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Dan Persfull
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Bloomington, IN
IMO, it's still a potential problem. Most applications and/or financial statements have a place for you to mark the specific debt or asset as joint or individual. I also know several married couples that maintain separate assets and debts as well as joint assets and debts.

If your institution showed a pattern of this practice it would stand more than an average possibility of being cited for a discriminatory factor based on marital status.
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The opinions expressed are mine and they are not to be taken as legal advice.

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#579184 - 07/05/06 04:09 PM Re: Joint Intent
Truffle Royale Offline

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Thankfully, 99.9% of my applicants are married or single. We don't get enough brothers or any other combination to 'show a pattern of (this)any practice'.

Sorry, ksm, if this only muddied the waters for you. I didn't mean to hijack your thread.

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#579185 - 07/05/06 04:22 PM Re: Joint Intent
Dan Persfull Offline
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Dan Persfull
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Bloomington, IN
Quote:

We don't get enough brothers or any other combination to 'show a pattern of (this)any practice'.




You may want to be careful about thinking you don't have enough incidents to establish a pattern. If that .1% is 3 applications and all three are treated differently than married applicants then you have a pattern.
_________________________
The opinions expressed are mine and they are not to be taken as legal advice.

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#579186 - 07/05/06 04:31 PM Re: Joint Intent
Truffle Royale Offline

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Did check. You always put the fear in me, Dan. I'm ok. I don't have ANY so there's no pattern. But thanks for the heads up. I'm sure others reading this thread thank you (again! ) too.

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