I have a signing Monday night at 6:00pm and am a little uneasy with proceeding with the transaction without asking some questions.
When I called the number to confirm the appointment the call was answered by a male. I’m not sure how old he sounded. He told me he was helping his mom with the transaction and that’s why his number (but not his name BTW) was listed. He also stated it was a Home Equity loan which I took to mean a HELOC. The assignment was listed as a refinance.
Tonight, while reviewing the docs, I noticed it is a new loan borrowing on the equity and not a refinance. (It is not a HELOC but that was an assumption on my part.) This lady, who is 56 years of age, is going to be borrowing 70% of her equity ($80,600+) on a home with no existing mortgage. I feel compelled to ask a few, friendly “general” questions to see if I can ascertain with reasonable confidence she understands what she is doing. There was just something about my conversation with the son that makes me suspicious there is a possibility he’s taking advantage of his mom.
Am I completely out of line?
You’re right on the mark. You may have to ask the son to leave the room while you determine if this is really what mom wants.
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I’m torn here - I want to agree with Arichter, and I do, but since they’ve gone through the app process, willingness should not be an issue at this point - unless he’s been driving the bus all along.
Kromedome42303, where are you located?
Check the property records for the property (wherever the mortgages are recorded or the appraiser website) - is he on title??
Many more questions occur to me - but I would most definitely have a chat with the lady to make sure she is on board with this - not straight up front questioning but casual conversation throughout the signing - her hesitance will show up eventually if she’s truly against it - or has no clue about it. I’d say most definitely when she sees the monthly payment (which she does not have now).
Good luck. Let us know…and please post where you’re located. I have a thought in my head if it applies. 
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Okay…I was right (your name gave it away )
Kentucky is an attorney state - do you have the attorney set up to work this with you? Let the liability lift off you and onto him/her.
P.S. further reading shows you need an attorney in Kansas for purchases; whether you need it or not for a HELOC will depend on where you look - NNA says no, LSS says yes…and so on down the line.
BTW - since this isn’t a purchase loan and a borrowing on the equity, it IS considered a refinance.
You mean the 42303 part of my name? I wasn’t sure at first how you knew where I am. I had forgotten I had my zip code in there. There are a lot of kromedomes on the Internet so that name is usually already taken. I put my zip code on there to make it unique. I guess there’s a lot of bald men. Haha.
I ended up calling the LO to see if he’d ever spoken with the lady. He said he had a three-way call with her and the son and she is aware of what’s going on and this is what she wants. So, I guess I’ll likely keep my mouth shut unless she says or does something that arouses suspicion .
I was heartened to learn that LOs are very aware of possible scams with family members or divorcing/separated couples.
Excellent news - takes the pressure off you; good thing the LO was helpful to you.
Best of Luck
