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Can a lender or broker consider my age when deciding whether to give me a mortgage or home equity loan?

Generally, a creditor such as a lender or broker cannot use your age to make credit decisions. 

However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, age can be considered in a valid credit scoring system. Even then, the credit scoring system may not disfavor applicants 62 years old or older. The scoring system may favor applicants 62 years or older. 

In addition, a lender or broker may relate your age to other information about you that the lender or broker considers in evaluating creditworthiness. For example, a lender may consider your job and length of time to retirement to determine whether your income (including your retirement income) will be adequate for the life of the loan.