The Mortgage Do’s & Don’ts

The Mortgage Do's & Don'ts

While you are considering the purchase of a new home or exploring new financing on your current home, you should not do anything that might have an adverse effect on your loan. We know it is tempting to begin making your new house a home or to spend your new savings on fixing your existing home, but this is the time to keep your financial picture frozen in a stable position until your loan closes. The key is to call us if you wish to make any changes to your financial picture; even the seemingly most logical beneficial moves can backfire and cost you thousands of dollars or even your ability to obtain financing at all.

Every small change to your credit and income can/may affect your eligibility.

THE DO's

Late payments on your existing mortgage, car payment, or anything else that can be reported to a CRA (Credit Reporting Agency) can cost you dearly. One 30-day late payment can lower your credit score by 30-75 points. Make your mortgage payments on time but call us before you make any payments that are scheduled within two weeks of closing.

Red flags are easily raised within the scoring system. If it appears you are diverting from your normal spending patterns, it could cause your score to go down. For example, if you’ve had a monthly service for internet access billed to the same credit card for the past three years, there’s really no reason to drop it now. Again, make your changes after the loan funds.

If you have any questions during the loan process, our mortgage loan originators are here to help and are just a phone call away.

THE DON'TS

If you receive invitations to apply for new lines of credit, don’t respond. If you do, that company will pull your credit report and this will have an adverse effect on your credit score. Likewise, don’t establish new lines of credit for furniture, appliances, computers, etc.

From now on, don’t pay off collections unless we specifically ask you to in order to secure the loan. Generally, paying off old collections causes a drop in the credit score.

Running up your credit cards is the fastest way to bring your score down and it could drop up to 100 points overnight. Once you are engaged in the loan process, try to keep your credit cards below 30% of the available limit.

Once again, we don’t want you to change your ratio of debt to available credit. Likewise, you want to keep active beneficial credit history on your record.

If you close a credit card account, it can affect your ratio of debt to available credit which has a 30% impact on your credit score. If you really want to close an account, do it after you close your mortgage loan.

 Don’t co-sign on another person’s loan, or change your name and address. The less activity that occurs while your loan is in process, the better it is for you.

Don’t change investments, move positions, close accounts, open new accounts or substantially change your asset picture without contacting us first.

Deposit amounts exceeding past history will be questioned by an underwriter unless the deposit is a documented gift.

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