ECOA when you refinance: appraisal copies, 30-day decisions and spousal signatures

Regulation B entitles a refinancing borrower to every valuation the lender used, a written decision within 30 days of a complete application, and a loan in one name when one income qualifies.

The appraisal copy rule is made for refinances

Because the appraised value sets your loan-to-value, your pricing and whether you need mortgage insurance, §1002.14 matters more here than on a purchase. For any first-lien loan secured by a dwelling, the lender must send you a copy of every appraisal and written valuation it developed — including a desk review or an automated model used to grant an appraisal waiver — promptly after completion and no later than three business days before consummation. It may charge you for the appraisal itself but not for the copy, and you must receive a notice of this right within three business days of applying. You can waive the three-day timing, but not the copy.

Use it. If the value came in below what you expected, the copy is what you need to file a reconsideration of value with comparable sales, and it is your evidence if a low value pushed you above 80% LTV and into PMI.

Thirty days, and reasons you can act on

The lender must notify you of its decision within 30 days of receiving a completed application. A denial or counteroffer must state the principal reasons — “insufficient equity,” “value or type of collateral not sufficient,” “excessive obligations in relation to income,” “delinquent past or present credit obligations” — or tell you how to request them within 60 days. On a refinance the collateral reasons are the common ones, and they tell you whether to pursue a reconsideration of value, a smaller cash-out or a rate-and-term loan instead. If the lender counteroffers (say, 75% LTV instead of 80%) and you do not respond, it may treat the application as denied after 90 days.

Incomplete applications trigger a different notice: the lender must either decide on what it has or tell you in writing what is missing and give you a reasonable deadline. A lender that lets a refinance file sit for weeks while your rate lock burns is not complying.

Income, age and the spouse who is not on the loan

Regulation B forbids discounting income because of its source: part-time wages, pension and Social Security, and alimony or child support you choose to disclose must be counted if reliable. Age may be considered only in your favor — a lender cannot deny a 72-year-old a 30-year refinance on the theory that the term outlives the borrower. Retirement-asset depletion programs exist precisely because of this rule.

If you qualify alone, §1002.7(d) prohibits requiring your spouse to co-sign the note. The lender may still require a non-borrowing spouse to sign the deed of trust or mortgage in community-property and homestead states, so the lien attaches to the whole interest; that signature creates no personal liability. Refinancing into one name after a divorce works the same way — the remaining borrower is evaluated on their own income, and the departing spouse is released only by the new loan paying off the old one, not by the divorce decree.

What to check

• Ask for the appraisal and any AVM or desk review as soon as they are done; do not wait for the three-day-before-closing deadline.
• If denied or counteroffered, get the specific reasons in writing within 60 days and match them to the fix: ROV, lower LTV, different program.
• Count the 30-day decision window from the date the lender confirmed your application was complete, and keep its missing-items letter.
• If one income qualifies, decline a request to add a spouse as co-borrower; a signature on the security instrument alone is a different matter.

Frequently asked questions

The lender waived the appraisal on my refinance — do I still get a valuation copy?

Yes. Regulation B covers any written valuation the lender developed in connection with the application, which includes the automated valuation or property data it relied on to grant the waiver, where one was prepared. Ask for it in writing. You can also decline the waiver and pay for a full appraisal if you believe the model undervalues your home.

Can a lender refuse to refinance me in my own name because my spouse has bad credit?

Not if you qualify on your own income and credit. Regulation B bars requiring a spouse’s signature on the note when the applicant meets the lender’s standards individually. In community-property states the lender may ask the spouse to sign the mortgage document to perfect its lien, and a spouse’s debts may be counted in some of those states — ask how the lender treats them.

The rule in full: Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B. The borrower profile: Refinancing homeowners. Related guides: Rate-and-term refinance: when it pays, how to compute the break-even · Cash-out refinance: limits, costs and when it is the wrong tool · Credit score needed to buy a house: minimums by loan type, and what it costs to be average · Debt-to-income ratio limits by loan type — and how to lower yours.

Other federal rules for refinancing homeowners

TILA / Reg Z · RESPA · TRID disclosures · Fair Housing Act · HMDA · SAFE Act / NMLS · ATR / QM · HOEPA · HPA / PMI · Servicing rules · FCRA · Flood insurance · MARS rule · SCRA · LO compensation

ECOA for other borrowers

First-time buyers · Conventional borrowers · Veterans · Self-employed · Investors · Retirees · Bad credit · Foreign nationals · Physicians · Heroes · Rural buyers · Condo & second home