Could this be construed as mortgage fraud?

Tl;dr: My wife (F50’s) and I (M60’s) closed on our home late 2024. During the mortgage approval process, circumstances changed, so I opted to take early retirement, which likely helped us qualify for the loan. After closing, I withdrew my retirement request as it was the wisest financial choice. But I wonder if this could be construed as fraud?

I have a prior work service that makes me eligible to draw on a state retirement fund anytime I choose, with a lifetime guaranteed payout. Over the last 2 years, I have been deciding whether to take the retirement income now or wait 5-10 more years for a higher monthly check. Regardless, I plan to continue working another 5-10 years.

Pros to drawing retirement now: guaranteed monthly check, pays all bills, leaves extra to travel and invest, less struggle with job slowdowns.

Cons to drawing retirement now: guaranteed compounding of retirement, higher future benefits, and no guarantee that my investments will outperform.

Circumstance changes: My wife was unable to get a letter from her future employer proving her job, tipping the scales to take retirement, which helped us get approved. Now she’s employed at a better-paying job, making it smarter to cancel the retirement and wait for the benefits to compound.

I feel like the lender may view this as fraud if they knew. Thoughts?

You are overthinking this. Mortgage approval is about a snapshot in time, not locking you into the same income streams for the life of the loan.

Mai said:
You are overthinking this. Mortgage approval is about a snapshot in time, not locking you into the same income streams for the life of the loan.

I lost my job on closing day and didn’t tell them.

When something in life changes, it doesn’t imply that everything you did previously was fraud.

No. Source: a thousand years in Mortgage Risk and Compliance.

Definitely not. You’re just promising to pay. If you need to pull more funds, you can do that without deceiving anyone.

I wouldn’t consider this fraud. Your circumstances changed after closing, and you didn’t mislead anyone.

Nobody cares what happens after closing as long as you pay on time. You’re overthinking this.

You’re overthinking this. Just pay your mortgage and you will be fine.

No, as a mortgage underwriter, I can say we don’t care about your income sources post-closing.

If you didn’t intentionally mislead the lender, it’s not fraud. Circumstances change all the time.

If you’re consistently making payments, it’s unlikely anyone will care.

Nope. Your explanation is enough if someone ever asks. Enjoy!

The benefit of ten years of retirement income set aside and invested is likely higher than waiting for an increase later.

I changed jobs during my refinance and had no issues. Just pay the mortgage.

As long as you pay back the loan, they won’t care what happens after closing.

If you didn’t lie, it isn’t fraud. You applied based on your intention to retire.

The lender required me to set up distributions from my 401K to prove income. After closing, I’ll just cancel those distributions.

It’s not fraud. You cannot predict the future, and your situation has changed.

Financial situations change all the time. You are fine.