EL PASO REAL ESTATE

Avoid These Four Mortgage Saboteurs

Since it is getting more and more difficult to qualify for a mortgage these days, you need every advantage you can get when you try to purchase a new home. Here are four things that can sabotage the mortgage process and keep you from being approved for a mortgage loan.

Stay at your current job. One of the things that a mortgage lender is going to look at when determining if you qualify for a mortgage is your job stability. If you have an unstable job, you may not have it long which leaves you unable to make your payments. At the very least, changing jobs before or during the mortgage process could delay the process for several months until you prove that your new job is stable.

Keep making your debt payments. Before qualifying for a mortgage, your lender is going to check your credit. While you might pass that initial check, you should continue making your payments on time. Recent rules of some mortgage companies require a second check just before the closing process. This means you could qualify at first but then be disqualified between the time of being approved and the time of the closing.

Be prepared for closing costs. When considering the amount of a down payment, be sure to hold back about 3 percent of the cost of the new home. This will help ensure that you have enough money to pay for the closing costs. Check with your lender for a better idea of how much you should hold back in order to pay the closing costs and finish the mortgage process.

Don't make any big purchases before closing. Your mortgage deal is not completely done until you finish the closing process. As such, do not buy any cars, boats or other big ticket items before you close on your house. There are many people who have reached this stage of the process only to have their loan cancelled because they didn't wait before making their big purchase.