Can financial institution force me to withdraw application with their competitor

[anonyman]

Hello Everybody

If I apply for a 2nd mortgage thru institution a.

A little time later I go to institution b.

Can institution b force me to withdraw my  current app with institution a as a condition to proceed further with the app.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Yes, as the creditor may think you are trying to obtain 2 mortgages at the same time.  Other applications of credit should be resolved.  They can easily make a condition of your loan approval, i.e. you are approved but subject to cancelling your other loan application.

[anonyman]

This is a HELOC.

I thought I am allowed to see what kind of rates and other criteria each bank has to offer. I have not received any conditional approval whatsoever.

Different banks work differently and fact is appraisals can also vary greatly from one bank to the other.

I am trying to see which bank will be the most beneficial for me and will end up with the one I feel most comfortable with.

So this is the issue, this financial institution is preventing me from competitive shopping as they are telling me to withdraw my apps with their competitors.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

You sure are, but each lender has their own guidelines... so if you want to pursue a HELOC from one bank, and their requirement is that you can't have any other HELOC applications in process, then that is their rule you must follow if you want to get a HELOC from them.  You are also free not to pursue getting a HELOC from them.