I. FRIDAY AFTERNOON, 4:47 PM
The email arrives seventeen minutes before your General Counsel planned to leave for the weekend. Subject line: Repurchase Demand — Loan No. [XXXXXXX] — Immediate Attention Required. Attached is a six-page letter from Fannie Mae identifying what it characterizes as a “significant defect” in a $425,000 purchase-money loan your institution sold eighteen months ago. The borrower’s DTI, Fannie says, was understated. The income calculation missed a recurring liability. The loan should never have been approved at 49.2% DTI—because the real number was 52.1%.
The demand gives you 60 days. Repurchase the loan at full UPB, plus accrued interest, plus expenses—or face escalation. The loan is performing. The borrower has never missed a payment. But none of that matters to the QC analyst who flagged it.
