Urgent help needed. Is home Seller requesting personal info from Buyers legal?

[sunnygreen]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland


Hi,
After pre-approving our loan, our mortgage lender overlooked something and our home loan has been put on hold. In the meantime, the seller allowed us to live in the house (for two months) and pay rent at $300 more than the monthly mortgage would be. Now the seller is requesting both our personal information (SSN to run credit checks). My husband's credit is almost impeccable (he has a credit score of 767). I am not on the original purchase contract and i dont work because i've had two major surgeries recently, so i cant go back to work yet. Also, my credit is not that good. Can the seller legally ask for our info? Will providing it to them hurt our chances of purchasing the house due to my credit problems and situation? Any advice is really, really appreciated. Thank you kindly!!

 

[justalayman]

they can ask for anything they want to ask for. The real question is; are you obligated to provide the information.


Unless there is some contract requiring it, at this time, no, they cannot. Of course since you are a tenant at this time, unless your purchase contract requires them to rent to you or you have a fixed term lease (for a specified period of time that has not expired yet), they can terminate your tenancy and if you fail to leave, evict you.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Take this as a not so subtle indication you need to buy, are going to be a renter or are going to be evicted, while he finds a suitable buyer.

 

[justalayman]

Also, my credit is not that good. Can the seller legally ask for our info? Will providing it to them hurt our chances of purchasing the house due to my credit problems and situation? Any advice is really, really appreciated.

that is between you and your lender. If you withheld information asked for on your mortgage loan application, then it could hurt your chances of obtaining the loan.

 

[sunnygreen]

they can ask for anything they want to ask for. The real question is; are you obligated to provide the information.


Unless there is some contract requiring it, at this time, no, they cannot. Of course since you are a tenant at this time, unless your purchase contract requires them to rent to you or you have a fixed term lease (for a specified period of time that has not expired yet), they can terminate your tenancy and if you fail to leave, evict you.

Thank you for your quick response. The purchase contract does NOT require them to rent to us (they're nice people and understand the lender's at fault oversight), but we did sign a fixed term lease that expires end of June 2013. It's actually their AGENT who says that they (the sellers) want this info. But their agent already has a copy of everything, all my husband's personal info - work, income, deductions, credit info). It seems if they run a credit check on me, it can hurt our chance of buying the house (bcz of my not so good credit), and if i decline to give them the info, it can also hurt our chance of buying the house. I guess my question is, is it a good idea to hand it over? Take the risk?

 

[sunnygreen]

that is between you and your lender. If you withheld information asked for on your mortgage loan application, then it could hurt your chances of obtaining the loan.

Thank you. Everything on my husband's mortgage loan application is honest and transparent as well. Nothing was withheld. We didnt put ME on the loan application though, because of my non-work situation and my mid-to-low credit score.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland


Hi,
After pre-approving our loan, our mortgage lender overlooked something and our home loan has been put on hold. In the meantime, the seller allowed us to live in the house (for two months) and pay rent at $300 more than the monthly mortgage would be. Now the seller is requesting both our personal information (SSN to run credit checks). My husband's credit is almost impeccable (he has a credit score of 767). I am not on the original purchase contract and i dont work because i've had two major surgeries recently, so i cant go back to work yet. Also, my credit is not that good. Can the seller legally ask for our info? Will providing it to them hurt our chances of purchasing the house due to my credit problems and situation? Any advice is really, really appreciated. Thank you kindly!!

Unless/until the loan clears to purchase the property, you are tenants occupying the property, and the seller is your LL. It is not unusual for a LL to run a credit/background check in their tenants.

In your case, since the seller is unsure how long it might take to clear up your loan snafu, he is being a smart LL and gathering up information that will assist him in assessing your fitness as tenants living in a property HE still owns and controls. Think of his request as a rental application, and you'll realize he's not invading your privacy or asking personal information just to satisfy his curiosity - he's being a prudent businessman, protecting his interests.

 

[justalayman]

In your case, since the seller is unsure how long it might take to clear up your loan snafu, he is being a smart LL and gathering up information that will assist him in assessing your fitness as tenants living in a property HE still owns and controls. Think of his request as a rental application, and you'll realize he's not invading your privacy or asking personal information just to satisfy his curiosity - he's being a prudent businessman, protecting his interests.

but unless the OP wishes to or needs to continue the lease beyond the end of June, there is no obligation to turn over any information.




sunnygreen;

unless the seller is also the lender, giving them the information should not affect the loan. Unless he does something dumb like calling the bank and says; what are you thinking of lending to these people?



The only issue I could see it causing would be it would be a credit inquiry on your credit report. Given the reason, it shouldn't affect the loan though.

 

[sunnygreen]

Unless/until the loan clears to purchase the property, you are tenants occupying the property, and the seller is your LL. It is not unusual for a LL to run a credit/background check in their tenants.

In your case, since the seller is unsure how long it might take to clear up your loan snafu, he is being a smart LL and gathering up information that will assist him in assessing your fitness as tenants living in a property HE still owns and controls. Think of his request as a rental application, and you'll realize he's not invading your privacy or asking personal information just to satisfy his curiosity - he's being a prudent businessman, protecting his interests.

sandyclaus, thank you for your response

 

[sunnygreen]

but unless the OP wishes to or needs to continue the lease beyond the end of June, there is no obligation to turn over any information.




sunnygreen;

unless the seller is also the lender, giving them the information should not affect the loan. Unless he does something dumb like calling the bank and says; what are you thinking of lending to these people?



The only issue I could see it causing would be it would be a credit inquiry on your credit report. Given the reason, it shouldn't affect the loan though.

justalayman, thank you kindly. You've been very helpful and your responses are greatly appreciated!