Dear Mortgage Person
First, I want to acknowledge that, just like tax professionals, there are good mortgage professionals and bad ones. This is for the bad ones. The ones that cause many of us to order voodoo dolls.
We need to talk.
Not on your timeline. Not at 6:47 PM on a Tuesday with a breathless voicemail about how you need something “first thing tomorrow.” On my timeline. Right now. Because I have some things to say that are long overdue.
I know your world. Before I became a tax professional, I worked in mortgage banking. I also spent years in IT working with loan officers and brokers. I’ve seen the inside of your industry. So when I tell you that your behavior toward tax professionals is out of line, understand that I’m not speaking from ignorance. I’m speaking from experience.
Let’s start with the basics.
You Don’t Get to Call Me
You are not my client. My client is the borrower. The taxpayer. The person whose return you want me to hand over like it’s a takeout order from Chilis.
I can’t just send someone’s tax return to any person who calls my office and says they need it. There’s a federal law called Internal Revenue Code §7216. It governs the disclosure of tax return information. Violations carry criminal penalties. Not civil. Criminal.
That means I need written authorization from my client before I send you anything (or even confirm they are a client). Not a verbal okay. Not a text message. Not “they said it was fine when we were on the phone together.” Written consent that meets the requirements of the statute.
So when you call my office and get frustrated that I won’t email you a tax return on the spot, understand that I’m not being difficult. I’m following the law. You should try it sometime.
Stop Calling After Hours
My office has business hours. They exist for a reason. I am not on call for your loan pipeline. The fact that you promised your borrower a closing date before you had all the documentation is not my emergency.
Plan ahead. Request what you need early in the process. And when my office tells you the turnaround time, believe them.
Comfort Letters Are Not a Thing
I’ve talked about this in an article before, but it bears repeating. Let me explain again, when you ask me to write a letter “confirming” that my client’s income will continue, or that their business is “stable,” or that their self-employment income is “reliable,” you’re asking me to predict the future. I don’t do that. No credible tax professional does. We do not have a crystal ball. If I did, I’d pick the lottery numbers, retire, and move into the Four Seasons.
You want a comfort letter because your underwriter doesn’t want to do the actual work of analyzing the tax returns. That’s not my problem. I prepared the return. It speaks for itself. If your underwriter can’t read a Schedule C or a K-1, that’s a training issue on your end.
I’m not putting my license on the line so you can close a loan faster.
Stop Turning Our Clients Against Us
This one really ticks me off. When we won’t bend to your demands, some of you go back to the client and say things like, “Your tax person is holding up the process”, “If your tax guy would just write the letter, we could close,” or “You’re going to lose this house because your tax person will not cooperate.”
You are weaponizing our clients against us. You’re creating conflict in a professional relationship that predates your involvement and will outlast it. You’ll close this loan and move on. I’ll still be here preparing their returns for the next twenty years.
When you pit a client against their tax professional, you’re not just being unprofessional. You’re being reckless. Because if that client pressures us to do something unethical to satisfy your underwriter, you’ve just tried to make us complicit in your shortcut. (Spoiler alert: Most of us will not bend. You can disparage us until the cows come home, but the reality doesn’t change.)
Let’s Talk About Security
You want me to email a full tax return. Unencrypted. To your aol.com address. Or to some generic inbox at a brokerage that has the cybersecurity posture of a child’s lemonade stand.
I have 30 years of IT experience. I’ve worked in your industry. I know how many of you handle sensitive data. I’ve seen the shared logins, the passwords on sticky notes, the Excel spreadsheet with every login you’ve ever had, and the complete absence of any data protection policy. And you want me to trust you with my client’s Social Security number, income details, and financial life?
As my 7-year-old nephew says, “No, thank you.” He says it with sarcasm, and I’m not sure where he got that.
If you want tax return information, we’ll deliver it securely. We will not email it.
And While We’re at It, Stop Encouraging Fraud
Some of you do this, and you know who you are. “Can’t you just move some income around?” “What if they didn’t claim that deduction this year?” “Can you amend the return to show higher income?”
You’re asking a licensed professional to commit tax fraud so you can earn a commission. Read that sentence again and think about what you’re doing.
I have ethical obligations. I have legal obligations. My license and my livelihood depend on following them. Your commission does not outweigh my professional responsibility. Not today. Not ever.
Here’s How This Actually Works
If you want to work with a tax professional, here’s the playbook:
Have your borrower contact us directly to authorize the release of their information. Give us a reasonable timeline. Accept the documents we provide as prepared. Don’t ask us to write letters predicting the future. Don’t call after hours. Don’t go around us to the client when you don’t get what you want.
Treat us like the licensed professionals we are, and you’ll find we’re pretty easy to work with. Keep treating us like an obstacle to your closing, and you’ll keep getting the resistance you’ve earned.
We’re not the problem here. We never were.
I’ve created a one-page client handout you can customize for your own practice. It explains the mortgage document request process in plain language, covers Section 7216 authorization requirements, and sets expectations around comfort letters, security, and turnaround times. Swap in your firm name and contact info, and you’ve got something ready to hand to any client who tells you they’re buying or refinancing a home. You can download it below.
I’m making this available to all subscribers, not just paid, because this is something too many of us deal with often. If you find this kind of content valuable, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. It helps me keep putting out articles, tools, and resources like this one.