Don't Trip Yourself up While Buying a Home

Some new homebuyers make the mistake of rushing out to buy new things for their home soon after the seller says "yes" and the loan is approved. There still remain a few major hurdles to jump before closing. Here are some things to avoid during the home buying process to be sure your transaction goes smoothly.

Don't throw your money around. You may be itching to turn your new living room into a showplace, or celebrate your new castle, but stay away from major purchases like furniture, jewelry, appliances, or vacations until closing. Financing new furniture with a store card or a bank credit card could jeopardize your credit worthiness when you need it the most. It's even a bad idea to make those large purchases with cash. Lenders are looking at your available cash when considering your loan.

Don't look for a new career. Lending Institutions look for a consistent career history on your paperwork. Finding a new job (particularly one with a better paycheck) may not affect your ability to qualify for a mortgage loan. But for some people, changing jobs during the loan approval process might bring concern and stymie your approval.

Don't switch your accounts to a new bank or move around your cash. Your lending institution will ask for recent bank statements of accounts in your name: savings, checking, money market, and other assets. To avoid potential fraud, most loans require thorough paperwork to document the source of all cash. Switching banks or moving money to another account - even if its only to consolidate funds - might hinder the documentation of your accounts.

Don't give your FSBO (for sale by owner) seller earnest money, made out directly to him. As a rule, your good faith deposit is yours, not the seller's until closing. Although some individual sellers might not know this, your earnest money must be applied to the buyer's closing expenses. Get a lawyer or other neutral person who can hang on to the deposit or put it in a trust account until closing. The contract should indicate to whom the funds go if the home purchase fails.

BeneGroup, Inc. can walk you through the pitfalls of getting a mortgage. Call us: 4083956018.