Things
Not to Do Before Purchasing a Home
No
Major Purchase of Any Kind
Stay
away from buying pricey items and apply that strategy to any major purchase
that would create debt of any kind. This includes furniture, appliances,
electronic equipment, jewelry, vacations, expensive weddings…
…and
automobiles, of course.
Don’t
Move Money Around
When
a lender reviews your loan package for approval, one of the things they
are concerned about is the source of funds for your down payment and
closing costs. Most likely, you will be asked to provide statements
for the last two or three months on any of your liquid assets. This
includes checking accounts, savings accounts, money market funds, certificates
of deposit, stock statements, mutual funds, and even your company 401K
and retirement accounts.
If
you have been moving money between accounts during that time, there
may be large deposits and withdrawals in some of them.
The
mortgage underwriter (the person who actually approves your loan) will
probably require a complete paper trail of all the withdrawals and deposits.
You may be required to produce cancelled checks, deposit receipts, and
other seemingly inconsequential data, which could get quite tedious.
Perhaps
you become exasperated at your lender, but they are only doing their
job correctly. To ensure quality control and eliminate potential fraud,
it is a requirement on most loans to completely document the source
of all funds. Moving your money around, even if you are consolidating
your funds to make it "easier," could make it more difficult
for the lender to properly document.
So
leave your money where it is until you talk to a loan officer.
Don’t
change banks, either.
Should
You Change Jobs?
For
most people, changing employers will not really affect your ability
to qualify for a mortgage loan, especially if you are going to be earning
more money. For some homebuyers, however, the effects of changing jobs
can be disastrous to your loan application.