Things to avoid before buying a home

Many new homebuyers make the mistake of rushing out to buy things to fill their home with as soon as the seller accepts their purchase offer. But there are still a few major hurdles to overcome before the keys are handed out. Here are some things to avoid during the home buying process to ensure your transaction goes as smoothly as possible:

• Don't make an expensive purchase. It may be tempting to order that new sofa for your soon-to-be living room, but it's best to avoid making major purchases like furniture, cars, appliances, jewelry, or vacations until after the closing. Financing that purchase with a credit card could jeopardize your credit worthiness at the very time it means the most. Using cash to purchase big items can also create a problem, because your cash reserves are usually considered when approving your mortgage.
• Don't get a new job. Unless you're retired, you should expect your employment history for at least the last 2 years to be documented and verified. Changing jobs won't necessarily affect your ability to get a mortgage loan - especially if it's in the same line of work or you'll be making more money. Income stability is more important than job stability. But getting a new job during the loan approval process could raise some concern and, at a minimum, will cause delays. 
• Don't switch banks or move money around. As we prepare your loan file for underwriting, you will likely be asked to provide bank statements for the most recent month or two on your checking accounts, savings accounts, money market funds and other liquid assets. To prevent potential fraud, most loans require a thorough paper trail to document the source of all funds. Changing banks or transferring money to another account - even if it's just to consolidate funds - could make it difficult for us to document your funds.
• Don't give a good faith deposit directly to the seller in a FSBO purchase. As a rule, your earnest money deposit belongs to you, not to the seller, until the deal closes. Your FSBO seller may not know that your good faith funds should be applied to your expenses at closing. Get an attorney or title company who can hold the deposit or put it in an escrow account until you close on the home. Your purchase contract should dictate to whom the funds go should the transaction fall through.
• Don't disregard your underwriting requirements. You may have been pre-qualified for the loan up front, but getting your loan conditionally approved by underwriting and ultimately closed and funded requires ongoing communication and cooperation. We won't drop the ball, and you shouldn't either. We'll tell you early on about the paperwork expected to be required, but underwriting may still require additional explanations or documentation. When we ask for more information, get it to us as soon as possible. Help us, help you.