Mortgage Loan Denial

[Angelica Collado]

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand why my mortgage was denied after being pre-approved and wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience.

I applied for a $650k mortgage through Navy Federal Credit Union and was initially pre-approved. However, after underwriting, my application was denied. The reasons listed were:

• Length of employment
• Income insufficient for amount requested

Some details about my situation:

• Credit score: 740
• Debt: very low (student loans mostly deferred while in school)
• Income history:
• • 2024 tax return: ~$141k income
  • 2025 tax return: ~$152k income
• I work remotely as a nurse in utilization/care management.
• I worked at Humana for about 2 years, then switched jobs within the same field.
• I currently have two full-time jobs now.
• My second job is less than a year old, so I’m wondering if underwriting ignored that income.

When I spoke to the lender, they mentioned notes from the underwriter saying:

• borrower works less than 40 hours (not sure which job they meant)
• housing ratio exceeds guidelines

So I’m thinking they may have only counted one job instead of both.

I’ve asked my loan officer to appeal the decision and request reconsideration, since I can show 2+ years of stable income in the same field through my tax returns and W-2s.

Has anyone been through something similar?

Specifically wondering:

1. Were you able to get an appeal approved in a situation like this?
2. Do lenders ever reconsider second-job income if it's in the same profession?
3. Would it make sense to try another lender, or is this a standard underwriting rule everywhere?

[Erik Estrada]

Quote from @Angelica Collado:

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand why my mortgage was denied after being pre-approved and wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience.

I applied for a $650k mortgage through Navy Federal Credit Union and was initially pre-approved. However, after underwriting, my application was denied. The reasons listed were:

• Length of employment
• Income insufficient for amount requested

Some details about my situation:

• Credit score: 740
• Debt: very low (student loans mostly deferred while in school)
• Income history:
• • 2024 tax return: ~$141k income
  • 2025 tax return: ~$152k income
• I work remotely as a nurse in utilization/care management.
• I worked at Humana for about 2 years, then switched jobs within the same field.
• I currently have two full-time jobs now.
• My second job is less than a year old, so I’m wondering if underwriting ignored that income.

When I spoke to the lender, they mentioned notes from the underwriter saying:

• borrower works less than 40 hours (not sure which job they meant)
• housing ratio exceeds guidelines

So I’m thinking they may have only counted one job instead of both.

I’ve asked my loan officer to appeal the decision and request reconsideration, since I can show 2+ years of stable income in the same field through my tax returns and W-2s.

Has anyone been through something similar?

Specifically wondering:

1. Were you able to get an appeal approved in a situation like this?
2. Do lenders ever reconsider second-job income if it's in the same profession?
3. Would it make sense to try another lender, or is this a standard underwriting rule everywhere?

 It seems like the Loan Officer did not adequately pre-approve you. I would just reach out to someone more experienced, preferably a broker. Anyone that pushes documents to underwriting without doing due diligence first, will most certainly get a denial letter.