During a quick discussion with a future client she said, "When I purchased this place I couldn't believe the bank ran my credit and called my employer the day of the closing." I wondered why this surprised her, I mean, why wouldn't they? It's a lot of cash they are putting up, right? This is not an isolated conversation. I tell my buyer clients this all the time. I even remind my fellow agents to tell their clients the same - even if I'm this listing agent. I don't want the deal to fall through because the buyer decided to go buy a fridge and a couch on a credit card and screwed up their debt to income ratio. That ends up in a DEAD DEAL! So here's a quick list of what you can and cannot do when buying a home.
DON'T APPLY FOR A NEW CREDIT CARD OF ANY KIND
DON'T PAY OFF COLLECTION OR CHARGE OFFS
DON'T CLOSE CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS
DON'T MAX OUT OR OVER CHARGE EXISTING CREDIT CARDS
DON'T CONSOLIDATE DEBT TO ONE OR TWO CARDS
DON'T RAISE RED FLAGS TO THE UNDERWRITER
DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
DO STAY CURRENT ON ALL EXISTING ACCOUNTS
DO CONTINUE TO USE YOUR CREDIT AS YOU NORMALLY WOULD
DO NOT DEPOSIT LARGE SUMS OF CASH
GETTING GIFT MONEY? SPEAK TO YOUR LOAN OFFICER ABOUT FOLLOWING THE PROPER PROCEDURES
CALL YOUR LOAN ORIGINATOR IF YOU RECEIVE NOTIFICATION FROM A COLLECTION AGENCY OR CREDITOR
