Why do mortgage lenders need your Social security number?

They always ask for it, when I ask they say my credit and such, but what else do they look at? Can they see my previous jobs, the trips I've taken? What do they see when they look at my social? Thanks,Why do mortgage lenders need your Social security number?
That's a good question. The look at you credit score and payment history but they also look at address and work history( to verify whats on you application) and they also check for fraud warnings. Why do mortgage lenders need your Social security number?
The reason your lender or broker would want your social security number is because it is unique to you and you only.





In order to qualify you for a mortgage loan they need to know if you are capable of paying back the mortgage loan.





Since they need to know this information they can trace any financial information needed to qualify you for a mortgage by obtaining a credit report from the bureaus that issue them. They can also find out about current and previous employment, see how financially stable you are by checking your bank accounts.





They also have government responsibility to report interest payments at the end of the tax year. This can only be done by knowing your social security number.





Why a financial institution would be interested in your travel plans as to where you have been or is planning to go is beyond me. They are only interested in obtaining a mortgage loan for you. Anything else would be counter productive to them.





They are not in the business of making travel arrangements, they are in the business of providing mortgages loans.





These individuals are bound by law to only use the information and other personal information only to qualify you for a mortgage. I see that you have not read any of the RESPA documents you were given to sign if you had applied for a mortgage loan. It states in your Authorization to Release Information what and why they need the information.





I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.





';FIGHT ON';
Several reasons:





1. Patriot Act requires a social security number to be validated any time a loan is made.





2. They check your credit report.





3. The money, legally, goes to you then to the seller, and this has to be reported to the IRS.





4. They need your social security number to send you 1098 so you can deduct your mortgage interest.





5. They also need it to verify your identity against documents that you are providing for income source, such as W-2 or tax returns.





6. They need it to report the account activity to the credit bureaus.





7. Your insurance campany will be asking for it too...just be aware, and they won't issue a policy without it.





If you don't provide it, they don't have to give you the money and it's 100% legal.
they need your social security number so they can report to the irs how much mortgage interest you paid to them during the year. when you file your taxes and claim the mortgage interest deduction the irs matches up what you reported as mortgage interest expense to what the mortgage lender reported as mortgage interest income
In addition to pulling your credit report, they're required by law to report some information to the government, such as the interest and taxes.
All they do is look at your credit report. They don't care what you did last summer as long as you paid your credit card bill when you got home.
It is another means of identifying who you are. Look at it as legal identification.
For your credit reports. My, you are paranoid!!