Apr. 16, 2007 - Do's and Don't when planning on purchasing a home!!

Do's

• Do make all your payments on time. Your credit will be checked again right before you close.
• Do continue saving money. There are always additional expenses once you move and you will be glad for that savings.
• Do make deposits into your bank account on a regular basis.  If you have any unusual deposits for large sums of money document them as the lender may need to verify the source.

Don’ts

• Do not co-sign for any loans for friends or family. That debt would be held against you.
• Do not decide this is the time to change banks; you can do that after you move in.
• Do not open ANY new accounts. Even though the new account has a $0 balance it may still affect your debt to income ratio.
• Do not buy a new car!!! Wait until after you are in your new house then go car shopping otherwise the debt could affect your debt to income ratio.
• Do not lender shop over the internet. Each lender pulls a credit score and multiple hits on your credit report can cause your score to drop dramatically.
• Do not pull your own score and then decide you will check why accounts are still open or have balances. I did this myself and then had to write a note at closing to explain why I had all these hits on my credit.