1. Don’t miss loan payments
You must keep your payments current on all your loan accounts, including credit cards and car loans.
The lender will look at your credit again before finalizing your mortgage, and if you have missed any payments, it may lead to you losing the loan.
2. Avoid changing jobs
It goes without saying that changing jobs is not something you should do in the middle of purchasing a home!
One of the things lenders look closely at is your employment
history.
They want to be sure that you are financially stable and capable of making your loan payments.
By changing a job before you get your loan, you make yourself less appealing to the lender.
Changing situations may cause the lender think you are unstable, or that you won’t have a steady income to keep up with the mortgage.
The word stability is something lenders love.
3. Don’t shift your finances around before getting the loan
When a lender pre-approves you, the approval is based on the current state of your finances.
You want to maintain that state – the one that got you the pre-approval – at all costs.
Sometimes buyers make the mistake of shifting their money around to better position themselves, but this is a mistake.
Wait to make any financial changes until after you have gotten your mortgage.
If a lender sees you moving money around various accounts, they will ask for an explanation.
You will need to give them a detailed accounting of why you moved your money around.
Avoid making this mistake and keep your money in one place before closing.
4. Avoid buying a car.
Without a doubt buying a car while also purchasing a home is a common mistake.
Doing so is also at the top of the list of what you shouldn’t do before buying a home.
Sometimes the feeling of knowing you are finally going to get a home of your own can be so exciting that you start looking at other ways to improve your life – like buying a car.
Unfortunately, purchasing a car can throw a wrench into your home buying plans.
Your loan pre-approval was based on the state of your credit and your debt load at the time of pre-approval before you bought a car.
Adding the debt that the car purchase will bring may make you unable to get the loan for your home.
5. Don’t buy furniture or household goods on credit.
Another mistake many home buyers make is using credit to start preparing for their new living arrangements.
You may want to start buying furniture and appliances to fill up your new home and make it truly yours, but hold back.
Taking on new debt, even for furniture or other household related items, will change the state of your credit and may throw up a flag for the lender that leads to the loss of your loan approval.
6. Don’t spend the money you are going to use to cover closing costs.
For many home buyers, the period surrounding the home purchase is one of financial scarcity.
Money may be tight right now, which can make the money you saved to cover closing costs.
The last thing you want is to be unable to cover closing costs when you are at the point where you almost have your new home.
Stay strong and avoid spending it if you can help it.
