Four Ways to Put Yourself in the Dog House When Applying for a New Home Mortgage!

Are you in the doghouse when it comes to buying a home?

This past Monday morning McKinney, TX saw rain for the first time since May. MAY!!!! It just so happened to start 5 minutes after I told my 4th grader that NO it wasn't going to rain...it's just thundering...enjoy the cooler temperatures while you ride your bike to school. **Smiling, patting him on the back**

Yep...just 5 minutes after he left the house I hear a DOWNPOUR. OK, maybe not a Hurricane Irene-level downpour, but given our drought I definitely qualified our rain as a downpour.

The rain lasted for 10 minutes (my guilt for sending my son to school in the rain lasted most of today) and then my 10 month old, 90 pound, WHITE puppy, Ranger, whined that he needed to go out. So let him out I did. And after a few minutes, I go to let him in when THIS is what I see staring at me:



<---That dog's in the dog house! No way he was going to be let into the house in that condition!! Sure, he's cute. And no, he didn't know he was doing something wrong. But in the end it doesn't matter. He's 90 pounds of dirty, muddy hair covered puppy adrenaline that won't be coming in until he's CLEANED UP!!

With the tightening down of the lending industry year over year, it's becoming harder for buyers to qualify for a mortgage. Many would-be borrowers are finding themselves in the DOG HOUSE for things that they could have controlled in the first place! So many consumers are under the assumption that having a job, with few debts and good credit (or so they think) is all it takes to be safe when applying for a new mortgage.

However, if you do any of the following YOU might find yourself stuck outside in the rain...covered in your own proverbial "mud"...unable to open the door to your dream home!

My top FOUR things that can and will impact your ability to qualify for a new mortgage. (and YES all 4 of these have happened to my own clients)

1. Take on additional debt AFTER being pre-approved for a loan. Like buying appliances, cars, or other LARGE purchases. Don't. Do. It. WAIT until after you are IN YOUR NEW HOME!!!

2. Borrow from your 401K to pay down your credit cards. Sounds good and logical, right? You're reducing your overall debt which will help your ratios, right? WRONG!!

3. Co-sign for a friend or relative. Just plain stupid. NO matter how great or trustworthy of a friend you have, and how many times they PROMISE they won't end up screwing you over...THINGS HAPPEN!!! Just don't do it. When they fail to pay on their loan do you really think they're going to be in a position to help YOU get a new MORTGAGE?? The answer is no.

4. Switch jobs or change the way you are paid (from salaried to commission based, for example). This changes your income history and lenders need to see two years of stable job income history in order to get the warm fuzzies about lending you a couple hundred grand.

Now I could write many many more ways that you can hurt yourself, but these big four are the most common (in my opinion).

Bottom line: Get pre-approved with a trustworthy lender. After doing this you pretty much need to check with them any time you consider spending more than $10.00. OK, that's a little extreme - but if there's a decision to be made when it comes to money RUN IT BY THE LENDER FIRST!!!!! If you don't, you'll be joining Ranger outside in the rain...covered in mud with NO WAY to go inside your home with out getting "cleaned up" first!!