Don't Trip Yourself up While Buying your Home

What's better than getting a bunch of new stuff to go in your future home? Nothing. But buying big ticket items before your loan closes can be a misstep. Until closing, there are still some hoops to jump through. Below you'll find a list of things to stay away from during this critical time of your home purchase.

Don't empty your wallet on big-ticket items Although you will be dreaming of ways to turn your new house into a castle, try to stay away from major purchases like appliances, electronics, or expensive furnishings. We also recommend that you stay away from vacations and vehicle purchases until your loan closes. Your lender may send up red flags if you finance your furniture on your credit cards in the middle of your loan process. Using cash to buy expensive items can even be an issue: many banks take into consideration your cash reserve when approving your loan.

Don't look for a new career. Lending Institutions feel comfortable seeing a consistent career history on your application. Changing jobs may not affect your ability to qualify for a mortgage loan - particularly if you are improving your salary. But for some people, switching jobs during the loan application process may raise concern and stymie your approval.

Don't switch banks or move finances around in your bank accounts. While the lender considers your mortgage loan package, you will likely be required to produce bank statements for the last few months for your saving and checking accounts, money market accounts and other liquid assets. In order to detect fraud, lenders will need clear documentation of how you earn your money and where any additional funds come from. Even for practical reasons, transferring cash or changing banks may make it more difficult for the lending institution to confirm your account history.

Don't give money directly to your seller (generally in cases of "for sale by owner") for earnest money. As a rule, your good faith deposit belongs to you, not to the seller up until closing. Although some individual sellers may not know this, the good faith money must be used for the buyer's closing expenses. It's advisable to put the deposit into a trust account, or get a neutral party, like a lawyer, to hold it until the closing of the sale. The final disposition of earnest funds, in the case of a failed transaction, should be included in the contract with your seller.

At Wize Mortgage LLC, we answer questions about this process every day. Call us at .