Don’t Let Last-Minute Problems Ruin Your Closing

Want to be sure your mortgage closes and you get the new home you just offered to buy? Avoid doing these four things:

1. Buying big ticket items or depleting your savings.

When you got approved for your mortgage, the lender compared your monthly bills to your monthly income and asked how much money you had in savings. If any of those changes, your lender might decide not to give you a mortgage.

Don’t take on car payments. Don’t spend the money you have in savings if the lender used it qualify you for your loan.

2. Paying your bills late.

Just before you head to the closing table, your lender is going to pull your credit reports one more time. If you’ve paid bills late, or had judgments filed against you since you applied for your loan, you could derail your mortgage.

Keep the balances on your credit cards low. Don’t take out new loans.

3. Quitting your job.

Changing jobs could make your mortgage lender question the stability of your income. If you want to move to a new employer, or quit your job and go back to school, try to hold off until after you close.

If you have no choice, try to stay in the same field and the same position. Lenders like consistency.

The exception to this rule is maternity/paternity leave. If a lender refused your loan due to family leave, that would be discrimination.

4. Ignoring deadlines and contingencies.

If you miss a deadline to file information, or fail to a contingency like getting a home inspection within a set amount of days, you may not get a do-over. When your lender asks for additional paperwork, send it in right away. Make note of exactly how long you have to meet any contingencies like getting a pest inspection so you know when deadlines will fall.

I’m here for you during the entire homebuying process. Reach out to me any time you need anything.