You could bring a copy of your good faith estimate, reg Z, and truth in lending statement to a different mortgage broker.

There are plenty of mortgage brokers to choose from in Sacramento and those that blog right here on Trulia. If you have a copy of own credit report you can bring that to a competing mortgage broker too. (block out the SSN on the copy you send. )

That way you can get a second opinion on whether the offer you are offered is fair and competitive.

If you have not closed escrow, and you want to insist that the lender recalculate your qualified loan amount based on a lower income, you have a right to ask, especially if you expect to never have last years level of income ever again. Conditions that could cause that would be disability, retirement, a permanent reduction in hours worked, or 2006 or 2007 income was extremely high due to unusual bonus or other windfall.

I think your loan officer probably used your previous years income instead of current income to qualify you for a higher loan amount - NOT a higher rate. Processing guidelines allow loan officers to use the best recent year available unless the downward trend is irreversible and permanent. - ( such as in the examples above) Trying to legitimately qualify you for a higher loan amount is not predatory. Are there other reasons to lead you to believe that your loan officer is not being fair with you?

On the subject of fair: Interest rates change daily and hourly due to Wall Street.
Your current loan officer can not control Wall Street. Neither can the next guy. When you compare GFE's (Good faith estimates ) They should be for the same hour of the same day.

Thanks to all for your different opinions. Does anyone know of a good real estate attorney in the Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom, Granite Bay area?

Also, we think we got a predatory loan - will that help? the lender gave us a loan on our last year's annual salary even we told the loan agent that our salaries had decreased this year!

There is a CAR form called a mutual release of contract. When an escrow fails, it is common for sellers and buyers to sign this mutual release form. It lets the buyer out of the contract and releases the seller from any obligation to sell to you. The body of the mutual release form has spaces where the parties indicate how monies in escrow are to be distributed. If you have a buyers agent representing you in a fiduciary manner, they will probably make at least one attempt to get your deposit back for you with this form sent to the seller for the sellers signature

Hello sorry to hear the loan is not what you hoped for. To answer your question if you have not removed all of your contingencies including the loan you should be able to get your initial deposit back. Your agent if you are working with one should be able to help you with this. Are you working with a buyer’s agent in this transaction? Or is the listing agent representing both buyer & seller? On the original purchase contract did all parties initial page 5 for liquidated damages clause & arbitration....... Also on the original purchase contract was page 1 paragraph 2.I checked? Bottom line in any transaction buyers are due their deposit back if the never released all of their contingencies in writing. This does not mean sellers always agree but if it did end up in arbitration more than likely the buyer would get their deposit back. See my web site for more information thank you and I hope it all works out for you. Have you considered trying a different lender to run a quick good faith for you? A good lender can give you a good solid bid for rates without running your credit based off of what you tell them and assuming it is correct information. FICO score, debt vs income, I have several very good lenders I could put you in contact with just let me know thank you.

Unfortunately, CA contracts stipulate that if the lender approved your loan, you are obligated to complete the contract or forfeit your deposit. But you should read your contract to determine if the loan for which you were approved is the loan identified in your contract. For example, your purchase contract might say you are obtaining a 30-year amortized loan at 6% interest. If your rate is now 6.25%, you are no longer obtaining that 6% loan on which the contract is contingent. But realize that real estate agents are not allowed to give you legal advice because we are not lawyers. You should seek a lawyer's opinion and rely on that opinion to make your decision.

Moreover, if your contract does not specify liquidated damages, the seller might be able to come after you for more than your deposit if you have no legal basis for cancellation. But even if it doesn't, and even if you have a legal right to cancel the transaction, the seller can take 30 days to release your deposit. If the seller wants to be stubborn and refuse to release it, it is possible the seller can be fined $1,000. However, even with that threat, sometimes sellers refuse to release the deposit. Until mutual cancellation instructions are signed, the deposit stays put.

I typically advise my buyers to put down no more than $7,000 until the contingencies are removed. If the seller wants a larger deposit, I advise buyers to deposit additional funds after the contingencies are removed. Because $7,000 is the maximum for filing in Small Claims Court, just fyi.

But please, do ask a lawyer to review your contract and advise you.

Sharon,

The language of the agreement is the key as Ted mentioned. However, if your agent filled up agreement correctly you shouldn't have a problem to walk away from this agreement without loosing a deposit. That's what loan contingency is for.

I am not an attorney, Sharon, nor do I know the specific language contained within your particular purchase & sale agreement. I strongly recommend that you seek professional legal consultation on this matter. If I had to guess (based on what limited information that you have furnished), I would say that you could be at risk of not only losing your deposit but potentially be at risk for default and additional damages. Again, seek professional legal advice on this matter ASAP. You'll be glad that you did.