Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which of the following is NOT a permissible basis for denying a credit application?
Answer: C. ECOA prohibits denying credit because an applicant receives income from a public assistance program; income, credit history, and debt ratios are legitimate creditworthiness factors.
Question 2 of 5
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits lending discrimination based on:
Answer: A. ECOA bars discrimination in credit based on protected characteristics; lenders may still evaluate genuine creditworthiness factors like income and credit history.
Question 3 of 5
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits discrimination in lending based on all of the following EXCEPT:
Answer: D. ECOA prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, and receipt of public assistance; a lender may still legally evaluate creditworthiness factors like credit score and income.
Question 4 of 5
What is the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) primarily designed to prevent?
Answer: B. ECOA prohibits creditors from discriminating against applicants in any aspect of a credit transaction based on protected characteristics, ensuring equal access to credit.
Question 5 of 5
Which characteristic is protected under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act but is NOT one of the protected classes under the federal Fair Housing Act?
Answer: C. Marital status and age are protected under ECOA but are not protected classes under the federal Fair Housing Act, which covers race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
What you need to know
Capacity is measured by ratios: the housing (front-end) ratio compares PITI to gross monthly income; the total debt (back-end) ratio adds recurring debts — conventional benchmarks hover near 28/36, with flexibility for strong files. Collateral is verified by appraisal; credit by score and history. ECOA (Reg B) bans credit discrimination on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or public assistance — and lenders must give the specific reason for a denial. Loan officers may not steer applicants to worse products by protected class.
Underwriting: Ratios, Credit & Equal Credit: FAQs
Is Underwriting: Ratios, Credit & Equal Credit on the real estate exam?
Yes. Financing & Lending is a scored domain on the real estate licensing exam, and this topic appears in the national portion.
Is this cheat sheet free?
Yes — every page on Cinna RE's resource library is free to read, print and share. The app adds practice questions, mock exams and a readiness score.
