Don't Trip Yourself up While Buying your New Home

In the rush of excitement that comes with an accepted offer and a "yes" from the lender, many homebuyers make the error of carrying their enthusiasm straight to the mall or furniture store. It's wise to remember that until you get the keys, your lender is watching you very closely. Here are some things to stay clear of during the home buying process to be sure your transaction goes well.

Don't throw your money around. You may be itching to turn your new kitchen into a showplace, or celebrate your new castle, but keep away from big purchases like furniture, jewelry, appliances, or vacations until the loan closes. You may send up red flags with your lender if you purchase new electronics on your credit cards in the middle of your loan process. Using cash to purchase expensive items can also create a mistake: most lenders look at your cash on hand when approving your mortgage loan.

Don't look for a new job. Lending Institutions look for a consistent career history on your paperwork. Finding a new job (particularly one with a bigger paycheck) may not affect your ability to qualify for your mortgage loan. However, if you switch careers before you qualify, your mortgage process could fail or be stalled.

Don't move finances around or change banks. As your lender reviews your mortgage application, you will probably be instructed to provide bank statements for recent months on your saving and checking accounts, money market funds and other liquid finances. To detect potential fraud, most lenders want a detailed paper trail to document the source of all incoming funds. Even for innocent purposes, moving around money or switching banks may make it harder for your lending institution to document your account history.

Don't give your FSBO (for sale by owner) seller earnest money, cash in hand. Until the sale is complete, the good faith deposit actually belongs to you. Some FSBO sellers may not realize that your earnest money must go toward your expenses upon closing. A neutral party, like an attorney can hold onto your deposit, or you may put it temporarily into a trust account until closing. Your contract should indicate who keeps the earnest funds if the home purchase fails.

Integrated Financial Solutions, LLC can answer questions about these "Don'ts" and many others. Call us at 4104614043.