In one instance, an underwriter wanted verification that the borrower, who had written a $167 check to a local grocery store, did not have a loan with the grocer. This is just one example in a list from the Los Angeles Times of loan underwriters who went a little too far in verifying data. 

According to the article, loan officers are simply trying to determine if the borrower is telling the truth, but some request are just absurd.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” Deis said. She collected these and dozens of other anecdotes on her Facebook page after asking her clients to report the most absurd conditions they have seen. “People are scared. All you hear about are buybacks, audits and people losing their jobs” because they didn’t verify this or confirm that.