Mortgage Tips For Lombard Area Buyers

These tips apply not to Lombard area buyers but buyers throughout Chicagoland.

If you are thinking of buying a new home, please keep this in mind:
Sometimes, it’s not getting the mortgage approval that’s tough.  It’s keeping the approval.

Don't lose your dream home by making one of the 8 mortgage mistakes

If you are applying for a conventional mortgage or going FHA, getting to the closing table can take up to 2 months, depending on the speed of the appraisal, bank signoff, and other factors.

It’s especially longer with short sales, foreclosures and short refinancing.

During those 60+ days, a lot can happen to a person that changes their underwriting disposition.  For example, one could lose their job, get injured, or have a home damaged by a storm.  The more time there is between application and closing, the more likely a catastrophic event is to occur.  Of course, catastrophe tends to lead to a mortgage turndown and, sometimes, bad things just happen.  However, there are things that you can plan for; things within your control.

Mortgage approvals are fragile, and nothing is done until it is done.  Good behavior matters.

Keeping that in mind, here are 8 things you should absolutely not do between the date of application and the date of funding.

Bad Mortgage Behavior, Defined

1.    Don’t buy a new car or trade-up to a bigger lease
2.    Don’t quit your job to change industries or start a new company
3.    Don’t switch from a salaried job to a commissioned job
4.    Don’t transfer large sums of money between bank accounts
5.    Don’t forget to pay your bills — even the ones in dispute
6.    Don’t open new credit cards — even if you’re getting 20% off at the register
7.    Don’t accept a cash gift without filling out the proper “gift” paperwork
8.    Don’t make random, undocumented deposits into your bank account

It may be impractical to follow every rule to the letter.  If your car lease is expiring, check with your Mortgage Advisor to see if extending the lease for short-term is a better solution than entering a new lease or buying.  The same goes for accepting cash gifts from parents.  There’s a right way and a wrong way to accept a cash gift.  Doing it the wrong way may preclude your ability to use the gift as a source of down payment without backtracking.

Check with your Mortgage Advisor, there are “gotchas” in Mortgageland and with underwriting times getting longer; it’s more likely that the average applicant will trip one.  Following the above 8 rules is a good start!

For more information, just give me a call at 630-730-8027 and I will put you in touch with a good Mortgage Advisor.

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To talk to a Realtor® who knows Lombard and the surrounding areas like the back of her hand, Call Caryn Kuhlman 630-730-8027