Wells Fargo Severely Restricts Mortgage Lending

Wells Fargo made some big lending changes on July 1st. First, if you want to close a jumbo loan with them and you are currently not a customer of theirs you MUST transfer at least $1 million in deposits to them. This proves the old Banking Axion-if you want to get a loan you must first prove you don't need the loan.

Second, Wells Fargo increased their down payment requirements on a conventional loan. For example, to get a mortgage on a second home with Wells Fargo the borrower must now put 25% down. We only require 10% down. Third, my understanding is that homebuyers will need to put at least 10% down on a primary residence with Wells now.

Fourth, they have imposed very restrictive reserve requirements of 18 months on their loans. For example, if a borrowers monthly PITI payment is $2,000 they must have at least $36k left in the bank or retirement accounts after closing. OUCH!!! Finally, they are still not accepting new Heloc applications.