The Real Estate Browser Volume 8, Issue 16 | Page 14

14 — Say you saw it in The Real Estate Browser of Lynchburg — Volume 8 Number 16
www.LynchburgRealEstateBrowser.com
What NOT to Do When Buying a Home
By Sherry Brady, Branch Manager, Summit Mortgage Corporation
When you’re in the process of
buying a home, it’s quite common
to start having thoughts of things
you want to do once your new home is yours:
upgrades you want to make, or things you want
to buy…new furniture possibly…new appliances
perhaps. Or, maybe you’re not sure what you’ll
need just yet, but you know you’re going to need
something, so you decide to go ahead and open
a new account at the local home store, so you’ll
be ready when the time comes. DON’T DO IT!
Opening any new lines of credit or making any
major purchases while you’re in the process of
buying your new home could cause major prob-
lems. It could possibly even cause you to no lon-
ger qualify for the loan!
Why is this so critical? Because your lender
is required to ensure that you can repay the
loan they are about to give you. Mortgage lend-
ers have always done this in some fashion, but
it became more standardized in 2014 when the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estab-
lished the “Ability-to-Repay Rule”, requiring
mortgage lenders to ensure that you are not tak-
ing on too much of a financial burden with your
new loan. To accomplish this, the lender must
be sure they have a complete picture of all your
outstanding financial liabilities.
When you first apply for a mortgage loan,
your lender will pull your credit report, examine
your financial statements, and conduct a personal
interview to be sure they have a complete under-
standing of all your income, assets, and liabilities.
After this initial interview process, the lender will
then monitor your credit activities until your new
loan is closed.
In years past, many lenders would pull a new
credit report just before closing. Typically, that is
no longer done because it could negatively impact
your credit score. Instead, lenders today do con-
tinuous background monitoring which has no
impact on your score, and your lender is notified
sooner in the event of any new applications for
credit. Once you apply for a mortgage loan, it
is critical that you continue to pay everything on
time, don’t close any of your open accounts, don’t
open any new accounts, and don’t max out your
existing lines of credit. Basically, keep doing what
you’ve been doing, unless your lender specifically
asks you to do something else. Also, don’t change
employment unless it’s unavoidable. If you must
change jobs in the middle of your loan process,
be sure to discuss it with your loan officer in
advance to be sure doing so won’t negatively
impact your loan approval, and so they have time
to do complete the employment verifications they
are required to perform.
Obtaining a mortgage loan these days can be a
bit tricky, but at Summit Mortgage Corporation,
we’re ready to guide you through the process.
Go online to www.LynchburgLender.com or call
us at 434-237-1027 to speak to one of our highly
qualified and experienced team members to start
your Summit Experience today!
Summit Mortgage Corporation NMLS
#1041, nmlsconsumeraccess.org, Equal Housing
Opportunity.