Things Not to Do Before Purchasing a Home

No Major Purchase of Any Kind

Review the article titled, "Don’t Buy a Car," and apply it 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.

Oh…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.

copyright 2000 by Terry Light and RealEstate ABC