Don't Trip Yourself up While Buying your 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 appliance store. There are still a few major hurdles to jump before the keys are handed over. Here are some actions to avoid during the home buying process to be sure your transaction goes well.

Don't buy big-ticket items. You may be itching to turn your new kitchen into a home magazine cover, or celebrate your new castle, but stay away from big purchases like furniture, cars, appliances, or vacations until the loan closes. Your credit numbers could be altered suddenly if you make a huge purchase using credit cards. Since lending institutions are examining your financial accounts, a large cash purchase is also a bad idea.

Don't get a new career. Consistency in your work history is a positive thing to lending institutions. Getting a new job before you start the application process for a loan may not affect your approval at all. However, if you switch careers before approval, your process could fail or be stalled.

Don't move money around or switch banks. Your lender will instruct the submission of recent bank statements of accounts in your name: checking, savings, money market, and other assets. In order to detect fraud, lenders will need a clear and consistent picture of how you earn your living and where any additional money comes from. No matter the purpose, switching banks or transferring funds might raise a red flag with your lender and slow down your approval process.

Don't give money directly to your seller (generally in cases of "for sale by owner") to be used as a "good faith" deposit. As a rule, your good faith money is yours, not the seller's up until the deal closes. Your seller might not know that the good faith funds must be applied to your expenses at closing. We recommend that you put the deposit into a trust account, or get an attorney to hold it until closing. If your home purchase fails, your contract with the seller should specify where this earnest money should go.

At Tenby J. Dahman The Dahman Team , we answer questions about this process every day. Call us at 3038627760.