You’ve probably heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) that affects people’s moods and happiness levels in the winter months when there’s less sunshine. That in mind, some researchers wanted to know if sunshine or clouds affected mortgage loan approvals (not making this up). Folks at the University of Washington compared loan approvals on unexpectedly sunny days to those on unexpectedly cloudy days and found some interesting things: 1) The number of approvals on the sunny days was higher and 2) The “sunny day approvals” also proved more likely to go into default. Anyone who has ever gone through the process of getting a mortgage might (and probably should) freak out to hear this and wonder, “After all the paperwork, scrutiny, explanations and proof of everything, it comes down to SUNSHINE?” It’s not quite that simple, but UW felt their data was strong enough to publicize. UW Associate Finance Professor Ran Duchin says, “The cool thing about this data is that for all the applications that are approved, we could actually trace the performance of those loans being originated, after they’re approved.” Duchin says this data should motivate lenders to investigate “to what extent should we automate some of the decision-making processes … to avoid this sort of human factor, these mistakes.”
I know from years of doing business and working with the finest loan officers and lending institutions that this research makes for an interesting news item, but it’s not even close to the whole story. Things like the weather shouldn’t affect your loan approval or experience as a borrower. One way to make sure you’re not harmed by a “fair weather lender” is to deal with experienced professionals. Get recommendations and research loan officers and companies before making a decision and don’t make an “impulse application” online without due diligence. Anyone who’s ever gotten a mortgage understands how helpful “live humans” are when the process gets stressful and complicated (and that’s practically the definition of “mortgage process”). Ask us! We can connect you with the best of the best.
~Charlie
