The Do's and Don'ts of Buying a Home

You've bought a Boston North West home.  The seller has accepted your offer and the P&S has been signed.  You can already picture moving your family into the new place.  But, your furniture seems a little worse for wear.  So, you decide that you need to go out and buy a whole new seating arrangement for the living room, you now have a guest bedroom that needs to be furnished and you want to upgrade the kitchen appliances to stainless steel.  Put the brakes on, buddy!  You don't want to make any big purchases until AFTER your Boston home has closed.

This is just one of the Do's and Don'ts when you are in the process of buying a Boston area home.  There are several more.  For example:

DO...
Stay current on all credit accounts.  This includes your credit cards, car payments and any other credit account you currently hold.

Continue your normal spending habits.  Sudden deviations from your normal routine may throw up a red flag to lenders and actually lower your credit score.  That doesn't mean you should max out all of your credit cards.  Just don't make any sudden changes to your spending habits while your loan is being processed.

DON'T...
Apply for new credit.  Now is not the time to buy a new car or furniture.  Shred any enticing offers for new credit cards.

Pay off old debt.  Unless specifically advised to do so during the mortgage application process, do not pay off any old debt.  Wait until your loan has closed to do it.

Close credit accounts.  This can affect your income-to-debt ratio, hindering the acceptance of your loan.

Change employment.  This doesn't just mean changing jobs from one company to another.  It can also mean changing from one position in a company to another.

These are just a few of the Do's and Don'ts of buying a home.  To view more, please read Bill Nickerson's helpful article (used with Mr. Nickerson's prior approval).  If you need help navigating the waters of Boston North West real estate, you can always contact me.

Heather Plate, your source for Boston North West real estate