You applied for a mortgage. Now what?

You've found your perfect home, applied for a mortgage, and are waiting to close. It's very exciting to buy a house and think about how you're going to make it your own home, but there are a few key things to keep in mind before you close. 

Below is a list of things to avoid doing after applying for a mortgage. Avoiding these actions can help ensure your financial lender will approve your home loan.

1. Avoid depositing large amounts of cash into your bank accounts before speaking with your lender. Because cash isn't easily traceable, you should discuss with your lender the best way to document your transactions.
2. Avoid buying a new car, furniture, or any other large purchases. To qualify for borrowing a loan, you need a lower debt-to-income ratio. To have a lower ratio, you need to meet certain qualifications with your lender. And to ensure those qualifications don't change, you should avoid bringing on any new monthly debt.
3. Avoid co-signing on other people's loans. Whenever you become a co-signor, those payments are now taken into consideration by your lender even if you are not responsible for making the payments, which can affect your obligations to qualify for a loan.
4. Avoid changing bank accounts. Consistency among your accounts is important because it makes it easier for your lender to track your assets.
5. Avoid applying for new credit. Whether it's a car or credit card, when a credit report is run in different financial channels (mortgage, credit card, auto, etc.), your credit score will be impacted. Lower credit scores could mean your interest rate will increase or affect your approval eligibility.
6. Avoid closing any credit accounts. Your credit score takes into account the length and depth of your credit history rather than just payment history. So, if you were to close any credit accounts, you could negatively impact your credit score.

Bottom Line

It's important to keep income, assets, and credit executed in a consistent and responsible way after applying for a mortgage, and it's important to keep open communication with your lender as well to ensure your home loan can still be approved.

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