Consumer complaint received 2022-02-23
Company: INDEPENDENT BANK CORP.
State: MA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
My wife and I applied for a HELOC from XXXX XXXX bank located at XXXX XXXX XXXX Hyannis, MA XXXX, originally on XX/XX/XXXX and were guided through the process by Branch XXXX XXXX XXXX. Our credit scores were XXXX and XXXX and we were asking for {$200000.00}. revolving credit line on a home we purchased XX/XX/XXXX for {$250000.00}. and subsequently paid off on XXXX using proceeds from our day trading self employment income from home. While my wifes credit history is thin, mine is thick, lengthy and I am reported to having an exceptional payment history, no late payments, no bankruptcies or repossessions. We reported to the bank in writing at the time of the application that we had gutted the old house and the roof, siding, trim, garage door, all windows and doors were replaced new, as well as all new appliances, and much more. The home improvements were completed from our own funds from working and were told that the bank itself would appraise the house for us to get the adjusted valuation, as home values had since risen substantially. The real estate " comps '' comparisons in our neighborhood averaged $ 430K - $ 450K. We reported that the HELOC was to complete the home renovations and rent the property and buy a second home. The 2021 year to date income at the time of the application was {$540000.00}, proven by cash transfers from our brokerage accounts direct to our banks from which we pay our bills. Through the lending process we were continuing to receive requests for additional documentation including two years worth of bank statements, two years worth of five different brokerage house statements, XXXX IRA statements, XXXX  IRA statements for both spouses, XXXX IRA statements, XXXX XXXX brokerage statements, over ten years old divorce decree, child support determination judgment subsequent to the XXXX divorce decree, homeowners insurance policy, 3 years individual tax returns, real estate tax bill, preliminary real estate tax bill, copy of the notarized quit claim deed for the house, additional identification documents including United States XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Adjustment of Status Approval notice for immediate relative of a US citizen, Permanent Resident Card, pay stubs from the XXXX XXXX we opened in XXXX with no debt, and funded with our own trading proceeds of {$420000.00} from our individual brokerage accounts. So there was no confusion on the sources of our income and assets, aside from the thousands, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX pages of supportive documentation, a partial list above, we also drafted several statements for the bank to accompany the requested documents of which a few I will quote for you here : Income : Our income is derived from our securities trading which we execute from home, for ourselves exclusively, being employed or obligated to no persons or entities. Our capital is our own and we do not trade securities on others behalf, except for the custodial accounts we set up to assist our childrens college degree pursuits. The XXXX file named { XXXX XXXX XXXX Months Deposits From Trading Income } calculated on the associated XXXX  file attached at the end of the same file reveals the {$180000.00} trading income deposited to the Bank of XXXX Individual Checking Account XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX While the same file calculates the deposits from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX to be {$74000.00}. These amounts are additionally proved by the bank statements which we have provided for you for a complete XXXX year period. The income of profits from trading securities that were deposited into our XXXX XXXXndividual Checking Account ending in # XXXX for the year to date XXXX is calculated on the XXXX  file converted to XXXX named { XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Income Deposits } and is calculated for you for the amount of {$350000.00}. Unfortunately XXXX Banks system does not allow us to isolate deposits only and will not do the XXXX, but XXXX months only. The deposits are proved again here by two years worth of bank statements. Additionally, we have begun to invest in crypto currencies and understand the nuances of and dynamics of the deflationary currencies which we believe our country is woefully behind in understanding and regulating ; hence the XXXX hearing just yesterday on crypto currencies. We can not provide you with statements as we do not hold our crypto in brokerages, except XXXX. For your review, I have provided the current screenshots of our holdings in our crypto wallets as of XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( See : PDF File named XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX has but one president, myself, while my wife, who is not a fully naturalized citizen, is an employee of the corporation. As the XXXX XXXX had no business in XXXX and the s-election became effective XX/XX/XXXX, we began to sell securities in our personal accounts and fund the company ourselves from our profits. Our paid in capital to date is approximately {$420000.00}. We have just begun to cut payroll checks on XX/XX/XXXX and will cut the larger ones to cover our XXXX XXXX IRA XXXX XXXX IRA retirement contributions ( per IRS regulations ) probably the third week in XXXX, as the markets are in the tax-loss sell off downturn and naturally wed like to minimize and liquidation simply for payroll. We have an abundance of profits from our individual accounts to pull from as well. Hence, we would like to have access to extra capital this year end to take advantage of the opportunities both in the market and in a rental property. 

At the time of the application my wife had {$6000.00} in wages and myself {$7000.00}, as we had just begun to run payroll through the company. Naturally, we could have taken half of the {$420000.00}. we deposited into the new business as paid in capital to the corporation and still had the other half for payroll. There are additional statements we gave to the bank for explanatory purposes as well. At the time of the application my wife and I had an approximate capital value in our trading accounts of over {$350000.00} for which we use to day trade daily. This money is key to our continued income, so we can not afford to use it to buy a house. Additionally the Corporation we began on XX/XX/XXXX had a value of XXXX on the XX/XX/XXXX statement as well as a XXXX IRA worth XXXX, a XXXX IRA worth XXXX and a Traditional IRA worth XXXX. 

At the end of the application process we received letters from the bank denying us the HELOC with the rationale that : ( 1 ) Income was insufficient for the amount of credit requested. 
( 2 ) Length of employment. 

On XX/XX/XXXX we followed up with Vice President XXXX XXXX, Senior Loan XXXX for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, for XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX, speaking with her for approximately twenty minutes asking and answering questions trying to understand the basis for denial. Naturally, she was a bit subjective towards the banks decision, but we had not called to change the decision, but to better understand. XXXX XXXX stated that she would look into it and get back to us. As of the date of this writing, we have not received any correspondence or follow up from either XXXX XXXX or XXXX XXXX regarding this inquiry. My wife and I spent tens upon tens of hours compiling and preparing all of these documents and we feel that we at least could have received a truthful answer. It baffles me that insufficient income and length of employment could be plausible causes for denial, unless the only income utilized to arrive at that reasoning would be the XXXX income year to date income, which we explained were the beginning payroll for the XXXX XXXX XXXX As a matter of fact, I ended the year with {$29000.00} in wages, of which I opened an Individual XXXX and deposited {$26000.00}. for an employee elective deferral and an additional {$4300.00} company match. 
There are a few details about the application process that raise red flags that we feel that should not be overlooked. 
( 1 ) In additional to the former insufficient income disproof, there are the XXXX pages of additional required documents. Sixty percent of these pages were brokerage trading account activity and retirement accounts activity ; completely useless for your argument of insufficient XXXX income. 
( 2 ) Length of Employment bears no reasoning here as we have been self employed, securities trading from home for years. That is how we paid off our {$250000.00}. house in three years, while investing an additional {$100000.00} into it with our own trading income. In an e-mail dated XX/XX/XXXX we were specifically asked to supply, Two ( 2 ) years personal federal tax returns with all supporting schedules for evidence of self-employment and/or rental income. 
( 3 ) My wife and I believe that her appearance at the bank had a decisive effect upon the decision, being that she is a recent immigrant from XXXX, and I am also XXXXAmerican. Because of the demands of the required documentation, it was improbable to upload all of the files to the XXXX XXXX XXXX, simply because it has a low fifty megabyte maximum threshold. We thought it wise to condense the files to a thumb drive and transfer the data more efficiently, as there were over 144 separate files. My wife XXXX met XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX at the bank to do so, but it was stated that thumb drives can not be used to transfer data to the bank. Or perhaps redlining is still used in the banking industry today. Depressing at best, because one of the main drivers we have to rent this property and buy another to live in is the eight months of harassment we have received from our neighboring rental tenants who have told us to go back to where we came from. 
( 4 ) If the former point is not valid, then why did XXXX XXXX go through all of the trouble to gather XXXX pages of documents and never take the time to complete, schedule, or even mention a home appraisal? In view of the substantial home XXXXmprovements we had reported, it would stand to reason. 
( 5 ) Given that the home had no mortgage or home improvement loans, if money was the issue at hand, why were we not asked to complete a personal financial statement if income was unclear to understand? In an e-mail dated XX/XX/XXXX stated, We will not use any bank statements for income ever for self-employment income tax returns only. ( we may have been able to use them for additional assets but not the income piece. Setting aside ALL of our trading activity and bank deposits is nonsensical as it is our business and income AS LISTED ON OUR TAX RETURNS. 
a. IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business, ( Sole Proprietorship ), Line A Principal Business, is specifically filled in with the following statement on each tax year, EXPENSES FOR SCHEDULE D, FORM 8949 SECURITIES TRADER If XXXX XXXX did not also have an Investment Management Group, I could understand the confusion with how investments and securities trading are reported on tax returns, but there is no excuse here. None.

( 6 ) In my conversation with Vice President XXXX XXXX, Senior Loan XXXX for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was continually asked about the adjusted gross income from our tax returns. The XXXX XXXX requested tax returns had adjusted gross incomes of $ XXXX, $ XXXX and $ XXXX, respectively. If somehow the income is not substantiated through the bank and brokerage statements, then why is the increasing adjusted gross income year over year rejected as well?

( 7 ) Finally, why did XXXX XXXX not offer a lower amount of home equity line of credit rather than an outright refusal?

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation