Can a lender cancel or decline my loan since I am on approved leave?
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Can a lender cancel or decline my loan since I am on approved leave?
I am currently approved for family leave to bond with my newborn baby and am also trying to refinance my home with today’s low interest rate. The mortgage company that I am working with is threaten to cancel or decline my loan if I do not go back to work as soon as possible.
Asked on August 20, 2015 under Business Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
Yes, the lender can do this. The "approved leave" has nothing to do with the loan--you are approved by your employer to take the time off from work and/or are using legally mandated leave from employment under the FMLA or similar state law but neither your employer's decision to voluntarly let you take leave nor government employment leave laws controls or binds a lender in any way.
More generally, lenders are not required to make loans they do so voluntarily, and they do so in the expectation of being repaid and making a profit. They are allowed to decline to lend to anyone who they feel is not a good credit risk, and they can make their own deterinations of who would be a good risk. In this case, the lender has determined that you are not as good a risk while taking an extended leave that is their determination and it is a reasonable and legal determination.
There is no right to refinance a mortgage if you want to do this, you have to satisfy your lender's criteria. That may mean making a choice between leave to bond with your newborn or going back to work early and refinancing.
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