Weird questions aren't they? Yeah, some of the requirements on your mortgage application usually make sense. Ones like your name, your social security number, or do you have a job? Those questions seemingly "fit."

But some questions may have you scratching your head. Why does your lender what to know this stuff? What has it got to do with a mortgage application?

Your "Universal Residential Loan Application," or 1003 form, has 298 different fields that ask for information. Give or take. Automated underwriting systems generally require a minimum of around 25 or so answers to reach a credit decision, not 298.

Do lenders really need all of this information?

Years of School. Yep, this one looks likely to be one of the first questions that can cause a little wonder. Does that mean that only those with college degrees can get loans? Or does your lender want to know if you have your high school diploma or GED? If you make $100,000 a year does it matter when you finished school -- or does it matter that you have a given level of earnings?

Number of Dependents. Again, is this really necessary? Some archaic loan guidelines examine income "residuals" that take into consideration how many people are in the household. In other words, if you make $5,000 per month are you more or less likely to pay your bills if you have to feed, clothe and educate one child instead of twelve? VA loans still require that borrowers state how many family members they have, but such information is of little or no concern to lenders these days.

Your Age. Some lenders will tell you this is needed to help verify your credit report or to establish a "make sense" approach to the entire loan file. So if you're 19 years old but have been the CEO of a publicly traded company for 20 years, then that could raise red flags. Give me a break. Does it matter if you are 40 years old and have a given income? Should someone be denied a loan because they make the same income but are ten years younger? Ten years older?

Other Assets. After you've listed your checking accounts, savings accounts, credit union deposits, savings and loan accounts, your stocks, bonds, retirement funds, real estate holdings, and mutual funds there's a section to ask for "more." I've always wondered about that question. Should you declare your furniture, jewelry or works of art? How about nice suits and good shoes? Underwriters don't care about that stuff. And automated underwriting systems certainly don't. What are you supposed to do, deposit your family watch to help qualify for your home improvement loan?

The loan application process is arduous enough without potentially being required to fill in nearly 300 information fields. Some of those questions can be intimidating -- especially for those buying their first home, those who didn't graduate from high school, applicants who are "old" or "young," those who don't have a signed Dali print in their vault, or individuals who have a "large" family, a "small" family, or maybe no family.

Let's stick to questions which are relevant to mortgage lending. It's time that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, VA, and others change these forms.

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