A Columbia SC Mortgage – 6 Don’ts After You Apply

A Columbia SC mortgage is more difficult to get these days than ever, but there are some things home buyers tend to do that delay, or even kill a deal.

This seems to be especially true during the time after signing a contract, and waiting for the home to close.

6 Things To Never Do When Trying to Obtain a Columbia SC Mortgage

1. Don’t make any large purchases like a new car or a bunch of new furniture for your newly purchased home. New debt comes with it, including new monthly obligations. New obligations create new qualifications. People with new debt have higher ratios. Higher ratios make for riskier loans, and sometimes qualified borrowers no longer qualify.
    
2. Don’t apply for new credit. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a new credit card or a new car, when you have your credit report run by organizations in multiple financial channels (mortgages, credit cards, autos, etc.), your FICO score will be affected. Lower credit scores can determine your interest rate and maybe even your eligibility for approval.
    
3. Don’t deposit unusual cash into your bank accounts. By “unusual cash”, we mean, cash you would not normally come into, like money your parents gave you to help with the down payment. Lenders need to source your money and cash is not really traceable. Small, explainable deposits are fine, but getting $10,000 from your parents as a gift is not. Discuss the proper way to track your assets with your loan officer.
    
4. Don’t co-sign any loans for anyone. When you co-sign, you are obligated. With that obligation comes higher ratios on your credit as well. Even if you swear you won’t be making the payments, the lender will be counting the payment against you.
    
5. Don’t change banks or bank accounts. Remember, lenders need to source and track assets. That task is significantly easier when there is a consistency of accounts. Before you even transfer money between accounts, talk to your loan officer to make sure it won’t affect your mortgage application.
    
6. Don’t close any credit accounts. Many people erroneously believe that having less available credit makes them less risky and more approvable. Wrong! A major component of your score is your length and depth of credit history (as opposed to just your payment history) and your total usage of credit as a percentage of available credit. Closing accounts has a negative impact on both those determinants of your FICO score.

The best advice we can give home buyers when applying for a Columbia SC mortgage is to fully disclose and discuss your plans with your loan officer or mortgage broker. The smallest little blip on your credit report could cause you to lose the house you’re waiting to close on! Wait until after you’ve closed on your new home before doing anything that could adversely affect your credit score or credit report.