Vanguard - last straw?

[ChicagoGal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Mortgage companies always ask for proof of income, it would be irresponsible and a big PITA for sellers, realtors and mortgage companies if they didn't. For retirees with little to no income from outside sources (e.g. we have ZERO outside income), it only makes sense for a mortgage company to ask for proof of assets as an alternative.

Totally get that. I worked in banking operations for 28 years. It wasn't proof of assets they were asking for - they had that with the statements I provided. It was proof that I was going to take a certain amount of income from those assets. And a confirmation of an automatic withdrawal wasn't enough - it needed to be a letter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsmeow Were you taking the income from an IRA or from a non-retirement account. For those taking from IRA it is easy to print out something showing you have set up the withdrawals. I could see it being different if it was coming out of a non-retirement account.

They wouldn't consider retirement assets, just non-retirement. And as noted above, confirmation of the auto-withdrawal wasn't what they were looking for. Doesn't make sense to me.

In any case, the original intent of this post wasn't the actual request, it was how the request was handled.

[target2019]

Schwab website produces a Balance Letter on demand for any of the accounts we hold there. It includes an average balance for a period you pick between 2-12 months.

[Out of Steam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graybeard As to no July statement, if your brokerage account did not have any activity for July there would not be a statement.

I had this problem with a Capital One account recently. I ended up making a small transfer from the account to assure that there would be a statement for the following month.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoGal Totally get that. I worked in banking operations for 28 years. It wasn't proof of assets they were asking for - they had that with the statements I provided. It was proof that I was going to take a certain amount of income from those assets. And a confirmation of an automatic withdrawal wasn't enough - it needed to be a letter.

OK, I didn't catch that. Not sure how any letter could actually force you to withdraw from your assets if you decided not to, but I don't doubt your story. In our case they just wanted written proof we had the assets to pay for the house.

[teejayevans]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoGal The letter was very odd. Sidetrack here: They wanted a letter that said I intended to withdraw $6K/month from my brokerage account as a substitute for income. I didn't actually have to make the withdrawal, just say that I intended to (both my broker and I thought it was ridiculous, but worth a shot if that's what the underwriters wanted). My issue was with the service aspect, not the result of the request. Getting forced into a full mailbox and disconnected on the next call just confirmed my frustration.

I had same problem, except the full mailbox/disconnect, I ended up just sending them the confirmation pdf I downloaded off the website.
I used the Voyager phone number if it matters.

[Ncc1701]

Unless you frequently buy the Admiral shares of actively managed Vanguard funds, there isn't a recent to keep assets there. Once you have $1M+ at Schwab (not sure about Fidelity) you can request that Vanguard purchase fees be waived. If you do want to purchase an actively managed Admiral share which Schwab and Fido can't do, then keep an account at Vanguard and submit an ACAT transfer to Fido or Schwab online immediately after purchase. The transfer is free.

[Katsmeow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoGal They wouldn't consider retirement assets, just non-retirement. And as noted above, confirmation of the auto-withdrawal wasn't what they were looking for. Doesn't make sense to me. In any case, the original intent of this post wasn't the actual request, it was how the request was handled.

I know the intent of your post wasn't the actual request, but various people read these threads so I did want to comment on this briefly.

I now realize that you are not talking about withdrawals from an IRA. I found your initial post here which indicated you were 51 in 2014. So you are below 59 1/2 right now. Often when people are talking about using structured withdrawals from an account to take a mortgage they have set up a monthly withdrawal from an IRA. Those withdrawals can be used to meet income qualification requirements for a mortgage. Those are usually proved simply by downloading the information about how much is being withdrawn. I've qualified for 3 different mortgages doing this.

For people under retirement age, it is a little more complicated. (Some people can look into an asset depletion loan). I realize that is not the topic of your original post but wanted to make sure for the readers of this thread that they realize that some people are talking about monthly IRA withdrawals but your situation is different which is undoubtedly why you were being asked for information that is not typical for the older retiree withdrawing from an IRA.

[teejayevans]

In related news: when I open my VG app this morning it post a notification that a new app is coming. Ooohhhhhh nnooooo!
I don’t want to sound like the guy that looks fondly of good old days, but I tried their Beacon app and thought it was terrible. I just get to where I know how to do everything and now they’re going to change it?!

[target2019]

Just made a SEP-IRA withdrawal from Vanguard to my external checking. It will take 3-5 days electronic transfer. That is fine with me. The interface is definitely simpler than Schwab, so I see some of the VG attraction, at least in this one transfer.

[RunningBum]

^^
That relates to a point that discourages me from doing a transfer out of VG. For good or for bad, I've learn how to do all of the things I need to do at Vanguard. I have my HSA at Fidelity, and it took a while for me to figure out how to exchange some shares in one fun to a new fun. Last year I was helping someone out on Schwab and found it hard to find a simple index fund I wanted to use. Maybe their interfaces are bad, or maybe it'd be easy enough for me to adapt, but they aren't immediately intuitive.

[target2019]

^
We'll probably stay with Vanguard and Schwab as things play out.

At Schwab I use the VG ETFs.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 Just made a SEP-IRA withdrawal from Vanguard to my external checking. It will take 3-5 days electronic transfer. That is fine with me. The interface is definitely simpler than Schwab, so I see some of the VG attraction, at least in this one transfer.

I think this is another area where competition has or will hone service levels. On Friday I made a similar transfer from Schwab to a USBank account and the funds should be good there today. 1 business day.

The place where Schwab's interface is klunky is in setting up external accounts for transfers. External accounts are associated with individual Schwab accounts, so although that USBank acccount had been set up connected to my tIRA I had to do the whole dance again to set it up connected to my cash account.

I think a lot of these "which broker?" threads with anecdotes being reported are a lot like the old blind men and the elephant story. Each of us are accurately reporting our elephant anecdotes, but they are difficult to fit together enough to evaluate the three whole elephants involved.

[target2019]

^
^^
At least for us, Schwab is the newer guy, but about 10 years into the relationship. I did stumble a bit with the external transfer thing as it doesn't cross accounts by default. I don't regret the choice at all. The fact that there is a Schwab bank, checking, and bill payment has been useful too. Both children have Schwab too.

[brokrken]

This sort of thing is why we left Vanguard. The last straw was that they kept asking us to verify our address and threatening to freeze our accounts if we didn't. We haven't moved in a decade and we verified it numerous times.

[Texas Proud]

So Schwab is a good alternative?


I have tried Fidelity and Merrill Lynch... Fidelity is OK but limited me buying some preferred shares, otherwise they seem better than Vanguard.


Merrill I just never got into much... my biggest complaint is I got a cold call from a rep wanting to 'manage' my account.. I got pissed because when he first started to talk I asked if he was trying to manage it (it cost money) and he said no... but it was a sales call... then I come to find out he is in a different city!!! I raised hell about that to a few levels higher than he was...



My goal is to have a place that has financial advisors that are free or mostly free to help manage the accounts when I pass as my DW has zero financial abilities...

[brokrken]

I’ve been with Schwab for a few years now and have no complaints

[rrs26ja]

After 30 years of managing my own investments, last year I hired a company called E3 Wealth. I have been there a little over a year, and I couldn't be happier. Anytime I have a question, I send an email or call and they always have an answer. I have sent an email at 10:00 or 11:00 PM and within a few minutes they send me a response. I like that they don't just put you in a 60% - 40% allocation. They have alternative investments that usually are just for the rich.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrs26ja After 30 years of managing my own investments, last year I hired a company called E3 Wealth. I have been there a little over a year, and I couldn't be happier. Anytime I have a question, I send an email or call and they always have an answer. I have sent an email at 10:00 or 11:00 PM and within a few minutes they send me a response. I like that they don't just put you in a 60% - 40% allocation. They have alternative investments that usually are just for the rich.

Went and looked... it seems to be made up of independent investment firms... but NO mention of costs...


The good thing is they say they are fiduciaries....

[rrs26ja]

I paid .62% of the total assets that they manage for me.



https://e3wealth.com/foundations/

[BoldPelikan]

My wife and I have our assets split between Vanguard and Fidelity. We made this decision quite a few years ago to try and mitigate against hacking risks, etc... Over time I have come to love Fidelity and tolerate (barely) Vanguard. We recently created a joint trust and had to change ownership on taxable accounts. Fidelity was fast, easy and painless. Vanguard took days and I lost many many hours sitting on hold waiting for an agent.