nk to ask for help. Their old bank had been purchased by one of the huge conglomerates ...and that was a problem.

After a week and a half of phone calls and faxes the lender and the customer finally made contact with a live person. That person told them that it was their problem, not the bank's, if they no longer had their stat

When I was a Realtor I had plenty of customers who couldn’t qualify for a home loan for one reason or another. Generally it was too little income combined with too much debt, or a long list of delinquencies.

But there’s another reason that can be even more frustrating to buyers. After all, people understand being turned down if their credit is awful, but what if the income is good and there’s no debt? People can’t understand being turned down in that situation.

I had such a couple. They had a terrible time getting a home loan because they had no credit. NOT bad credit - no credit. They didn’t owe anyone anything. Seems like that would be a good thing, but lenders don't like it. They want to see a history of bill paying.

In order to make up for this lack of bills, the lender asked to see rent receipts, proof of payment of telephone and power bills, etc. Unfortunately these customers had only paid the bills...and not kept the copies. So the lender asked for bank statements and/or cancelled checks. This also proved to be difficult.

This couple had recently moved from California to Idaho. They were living in a motel, with their belongings in a storage unit. Statements were lost, or under something in one of those boxes in storage. They simply couldn't be located. That meant calling the bank to ask for help. Their old bank had been purchased by one of the huge conglomerates ...and that was a problem.

After a week and a half of phone calls and faxes the lender and the customer finally made contact with a live person. That person told them that it was their problem, not the bank's, if they no longer had their state

if their credit is awful, but what if the income is good and there’s no debt? People can’t understand being turned down in that situation.

I had such a couple. They had a terrible time getting a home loan because they had no credit. NOT bad credit - no credit. They didn’t owe anyone anything. Seems like that would be a good thing, but lenders don't like it. They want to see a history of bill paying.

In order to make up for this lack of bills, the lender asked to see rent receipts, proof of payment of telephone and power bills, etc. Unfortunately these customers had only paid the bills...and not kept the copies. So the lender asked for bank statements and/or cancelled checks. This also proved to be difficult.

This couple had recently moved from California to Idaho. They were living in a motel, with their belongings in a storage unit. Statements were lost, or under something in one of those boxes in storage. They simply couldn't be located. That meant calling the bank to ask for help. Their old bank had been purchased by one of the huge conglomerates ...and that was a problem.

After a week and a half of phone calls and faxes the lender and the customer finally made contact with a live person. That person told them that it was their problem, not the bank's, if they no longer had their stat

d thing, but lenders don't like it. They want to see a history of bill paying.

In order to make up for this lack of bills, the lender asked to see rent receipts, proof of payment of telephone and power bills, etc. Unfortunately these customers had only paid the bills...and not kept the copies. So the lender asked for bank statements and/or cancelled checks. This also proved to be difficult.

This couple had recently moved from California to Idaho. They were living in a motel, with their belongings in a storage unit. Statements were lost, or under something in one of those boxes in storage. They simply couldn't be located. That meant calling the bank to ask for help. Their old bank had been purchased by one of the huge conglomerates ...and that was a problem.

After a week and a half of phone calls and faxes the lender and the customer finally made contact with a live person. That person told them that it was their problem, not the bank's, if they no longer had their stat

ements and/or cancelled checks. This also proved to be difficult.

This couple had recently moved from California to Idaho. They were living in a motel, with their belongings in a storage unit. Statements were lost, or under something in one of those boxes in storage. They simply couldn't be located. That meant calling the bank to ask for help. Their old bank had been purchased by one of the huge conglomerates ...and that was a problem.

After a week and a half of phone calls and faxes the lender and the customer finally made contact with a live person. That person told them that it was their problem, not the bank's, if they no longer had their stat

nk to ask for help. Their old bank had been purchased by one of the huge conglomerates ...and that was a problem.

After a week and a half of phone calls and faxes the lender and the customer finally made contact with a live person. That person told them that it was their problem, not the bank's, if they no longer had their statements. Although they had sent money to expedite the request, it would be 30 days before anyone would even begin to address their problem. In short, they said "No" to helping.

So, a word to the wise: Hang on to paper! Keep all your bills. When you pay them write the date and check number on them and put them in a safe place. And keep your bank statements! If you pay in cash, keep the receipts. There are a few things you don't have to save: grocery receipts or movie admission tickets. Keep the rest!

Next, remember where you put it.