Picture this: not only are you pre-approved for your home purchase, but your purchase agreement has been accepted and you’re ready to kick it into high gear. The boxes are packed, family and friends are lined up to help you move and you’re ready to enter into home ownership.

But not so fast! Don’t derail your hard work the past few months by disregarding a few important things that you should avoid doing before you get your new house keys.

Don’t have further credit inquiries

As financial and mortgage professionals, we recommend refraining from credit inquiries/checks until you have officially signed all of your paperwork. The reasoning behind this is lenders have to source credit inquiries to see what, if anything, resulted from the request. So while you’re in the short period between the purchase agreement being accepted and the home purchase being complete, it’s best to wait to buy furniture for your new house, a new vehicle or apply for a new credit card. A good rule of thumb to abide by is to play it safe and wait until all the papers are signed before making any big purchases that require a credit pull.

Don’t change jobs

The following recommendation may be difficult depending on your situation, but avoid switching jobs until the house is yours. Though we welcome new talent at SouthPoint, we want you to get into your new home, too! There are rules and regulations that must be followed regarding your household income during the loan process and home loan closings can be affected by a job change. Part of the approval process mortgage lenders go through is examining your employment history to determine a history of steady jobs and income. Providing additional documentation on a new employment to your lender could delay the closing on the mortgage.

Wait to contest a credit mishap

This one may come as a surprise, but if you find something in your credit report that you weren’t expecting, wait to contact the credit bureaus until after you’ve closed on your home. It can take several weeks for the credit bureau agencies to update your report and you want to make sure your credit score is the best it can be while waiting to sign off on your mortgage.

For more advice on what to avoid before officially closing on your home, contact one of SPHM’s Mortgage Loan Officer. The housing market is heating up quickly; give us a call so we can work together on getting you ready to buy! Don’t be the home buyer that isn’t ready!