Loan officer here: most of the time these ridiculous conditions come from over zealous underwriters, not the loan officer. Most of us are compensated with commissions, so we don’t make money unless loans close (unless you work for a big bank and are a salaried employee). On the other hand, you’ll get some underwriters that are truly impossible to please.

The best defense in these situations is a good offense. Work with a loan officer that truly understands the guidelines of the loan product(s) you’re working with; be forthcoming so they can help structure your file in an open and honest way that they can paint the picture on your behalf for the underwriter. Most of my conversations about conditions happen between me and my operations/underwriting team and the borrower never knows because typically they can be resolved with some common sense.

On the flip side, I could write a novel about the things I’ve seen borrowers do and why certain things will undoubtedly cause issues for them during the process.