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You did WHAT!? Part 1 of 3

Now that you’re thinking about buying a home you’ve probably stumbled about articles on what to do before applying for a mortgage. It’s still common for home-buyers to be unaware of what “NOT” to do before, or during their application for a mortgage. These may seem obvious, but unfortunately, I’ve actually seen a few of these things happen and even prevent a customer from being able to move forward with mortgage financing. That’s never a good day!

  • Don’t Change Your Job or Career
    • This may seem pretty basic, but it’s surprising how many times we’ve encountered clients who are considering a career change while going through the mortgage process. If you’re simply transferring to a new community with the same employer, you should be okay as long as all the other qualification standards have been met. However, if you’ve also changed careers as part of this relocation, you may have difficulty getting or remaining pre-qualified. Even if you’re getting a pay raise on a new job could cause delays! You may be required to be “on the new job” for thirty days or longer. In short, a job change would be scrutinized, but a career change would likely be a BIG mistake! Be sure to check with me first.
  • Don’t Make Unusually Large Bank Deposits
    • We want to see stability, the sources of your income, and all other funds which will support repayment of the home loan. (If you have large sums of cash, and you don’t want lenders “in your business” – then consider just buying a home in cash.) The federal government, banks and lenders get really nervous when they see large sums of cash being deposited – particularly when it’s just prior to applying for a mortgage. The same goes for transferring large sums of money between bank accounts. Sometimes, such deposits and transfers are completely legitimate. Regardless, this will raise questions, (and you could trigger an IRS audit – but that’s another topic). So… if you make large deposits and/or transfers, you need to be prepared, and expect to not only answer questions regarding these bank transactions, but you must provide documentation as well.

Rule of thumb, if you are unsure of how a decision may affect your ablility to move forward with mortgage financing, just ask! That’s what I’m here for!