8
Things To Avoid Before You Buy a Home
If you have been approved for a mortgage for your next home, you might be assuming you can breathe easy now and just concentrate
on packing and preparing for your move. Not yet.
While most of your hard work of building a good credit profile and amassing savings for a down payment and closing costs is
behind you, it’s important to remember that your lender will recheck your
credit just prior to your settlement date and will also verify a few details
such as your place of employment to make sure nothing has changed.
That’s the key phrase—“nothing has changed.” You must take care
to maintain the same credit profile that led to your loan approval until your
mortgage paperwork is completely signed.
Avoid the following actions to ensure a smooth settlement:
1. Don’t apply for new credit: It may seem natural to apply for
a credit card at a home improvement store or a furniture store when you are
about to become a homeowner, but applying for credit can lower your credit score. Not only will you
lose a few points because of a credit inquiry, but if you are approved for new
credit, a lender may worry that you will spend up to your new credit limit and
then default on your loan.
2. Don’t close any credit accounts: You may be
feeling that this is a good time to get your financial house in order by
closing unused credit accounts or transferring your debt to a new credit card
with a zero-interest balance transfer offer. While that’s a smart move
financially, it’s a bad one for your credit score because you lose points when
you have a higher usage of debt compared to your limit on one credit card and
to your overall credit availability. Wait until your closing is complete before
you make these changes.
3. Don’t move your money around without a paper trail: Your lender
will need the most recent bank statements before you go to settlement, so if
you have any unusual deposits you will need to provide complete documentation
of where the money came from. If possible, it’s best to move the cash you will
need for your home purchase into one account before you apply for a mortgage.
If not, make sure you have complete and accurate records readily available.
4. Don’t increase your debts: In addition to your credit score,
your debt-to-income ratio is extremely important to a loan approval. If you
take on more debt you could be in danger of going above the maximum acceptable
debt-to-income ratio.
5. Don’t skip a payment or make a late payment: One of the
most important elements of your credit score is your history of on-time,
in-full payments, so don’t get so caught up in your move that you forget to
keep up with paying basic bills.
6. Don’t buy a car: You may be feeling that a new car would be a nice addition
to the driveway of your new home. Resist that feeling. Even if you can easily
afford a new car, the depletion of your savings or the addition of a new car
loan could derail your mortgage application. Wait until after you have moved to
switch to a new car.
7. Don’t change jobs if you can help it: While a job
change could mean a raise or a path to a better future, it could also delay
your settlement. Your lender needs to verify employment and will need paystubs
to prove your new income before your loan can go to settlement.
8. Don’t spend your savings: You’ll need cash on hand at the
settlement for your down payment and closing costs and your lender may even
verify your cash reserves one more time, so make sure the funds stay in place.
In other words, no matter how hard it is at this exciting time,
it’s better to do nothing than to do anything.
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