During the mortgage loan process do not go out and apply for new credit, even if the offer is for 90 or 120 days, or for 6 or 12 months, same as cash with no payments necessary. Applying for new credit can not only lower your credit score, but it can still report to your credit report before closing and it can still negatively affect your credit score, even if a payment is not necessary to be made for a year. In some cases this could even increase your debt ratio enough to possibly disqualify you for the home mortgage financing. Therefore, do not apply for new credit or charge up new furniture or appliances on existing credit cards (even if there are exceptional buy now, pay later promotions going on) until after you have closed on your home mortgage loan.

Do stay current on your existing loans. Even if you are paying off accounts with the proceeds of a new loan, be sure to still make your monthly payments on those loans. 1 late can significantly impact your credit score.

Don't max out or over charge on your credit cards. Going over your credit limit raises a red flag and is the quickest way to reduce your score without being delinquent on an account.

Do not be concerned that the balances listed on your application might be reduced by recent payments. The title company handling the closing will verify payoff amounts just prior to closing, and any overpayment, including escrow balances, will be refunded to you.

During the loan process do not make any late payments on an existing mortgage. Mortgage late payments are very unfavorable in the eyes of the lender and can hurt your chances of qualifying for a loan.

If you accidently DO run up one of your credit card bills during the loan process, there are resoruces available to have your credit scores go back up. The downside with this is, you usually will have to #1 . pay down the balance to under 50%, and #2, pay for a rescore fee which can be up to $90 to expedite within 5 days to get your score back to where it was. This really can be a headache and time consuming. You should really not touch any of your cards, or get anything new added to your credit report during the loan process

A good rule of thumb for keeping your credit clean during the loan process is to never provide your social security number. You social security number is required to perform a credit check, so by refusing to provide it you will never accidentally apply for new credit (which could potentially ruin your mortgage financing).

When refinancing your home to consolidate your debts, one mistake borrowers make is thinking they can stop making the payments on the debts they are going to pay off. If for some reason the mortgage doesn't close on time and you haven't made the debt payments, they could fall 30 days late which could impact your credit scores negatively. Some lenders will re-pull credit before the closing to insure that the borrowers credit hasn't changed. And, if the credit scores are lower than when the loan process was started, the loan could change or be canceled. Always make sure to continue making the monthly payments on the debts you are going to consolidate right through the loan closing.

Mortgage Process Do Nots - There are some things that you want to make sure to not do when you are attempting to obtain a new mortgage. These "Do Nots" can affect your interest rate, or possibly even deny you from obtaining the new mortgage.

Do not lie or embellish the truth on your mortgage application. This will only cause problems down the road, and/or the denial of your loan application. Always be upfront and honest. This is the best way to help speed up your loan application process and get you the best deal for your situation.

You should not leave out information that is crucial to your loan application. Changing employment dates to appear more appealing will cause problems when the U/W does a verification of employment. Being completely honest and upfront with all information will streamline your application and give you a better chance of approval than changing facts to appear better than they are.

After applying for a mortgage do not apply for any new credit until your loan closes. This includes charging new funiture or leasing / purchasing a new car. Any new debt will effect your debt to income ratio and may disqualify you from your loan. When any retailer asks you for your social security number this means they are going to pull your credit: do not give them the information! Tell them you are applying for a mortgage and do not want any new inquries to your credit history.

Do not change jobs.
Do not quit your job.
Do not get so caught up in obtaining your mortgage that your work suffers and you get fired.
Do not try to falsify employment or income.
We've all heard stories of borrowers that quit their jobs the day before or the day of their closing, then the lender re-verifies employment and the loan is denied.

When applying for a mortgage, do not apply to multiple lenders at the same time. This is illegal. Your credit score will also suffer as multiple lenders pull your credit. Choose a mortgage broker which has the ability to match your application up with any wholesale lender available to them. This will allow you to avoid the shopping process all together and help keep your credit from being ruined in the process.

Do not be allowed to let yourself be talked into borrowing more money then you think you can afford vto pay back. With some of todays stated loan programs it is east to get in over your head. Pick a budget and stick to it.

Things not to do durring the loan process - During the loan process, there are many things that you should not do that could affect your approval.

Make sure you do not begin construction on the property of any kind. An appraisal will be required and having construction on the property could hurt your ability to get a fair appraisal and may affect how much money you can lend on the home.

Do not do anything that could affect your credit profile such as apply for a new auto loan, credit card, cell phone, etc. Not only do you not want to take on any new debt, you do not want to have any inquiries report on your credit bureau. Unnecessary inquiries can drop your credit score, resulting in higher interest rates, or could possibly result in you not being able to qualify for the mortgage at all.

During the loan process remember to continue to pay credit related obligations on time. Late payments, especially to your mortgage, could result in your loan being denied!

Many people have made the unfortunate mistake of buying their new home furnishings on credit. This is often a problem because the new lines of credit are probably at a high utilization, lowering your credit scores. Also, the new minimal monthly payment may disqualify you due to your higher debt to income ratio. Even if your loan has been approved the lender will check your credit report immediately prior to closing. Do not buy new furniture on credit until you have closed on your purchase and the keys to your new house are in your hands.

Do not change or quit your job. Employment stability is one of the factors banks use to underwrite the risk of your mortgage. Changing employment can cause the mortgage application to be turned down, or at the very least, prolongs and complicates the loan process.

Even if you are thinking about making home furnishing purchases that are all 90 days same as cash, 12 months no interest, no payments for two years from date of purchase, etc... do not buy these before the financing is complete for your home purchase. These will still report to your credit and can negatively affect your loan approval. Don't let the sales reps. at the furniture stores tell you otherwise either, because they are working for a commission and just want to sell furniture and make their money. This is a very important item to make sure you do not do during the loan process, especially if your debt to income ratio is already a little on the high side. Another thing to not do during the loan process is, do not schedule appliance and furniture deliveries, landscapers, painters, home decorators, etc... to show up the day and immediately after you are supposed to close and get your keys to the new home. Unfortunately sometimes unexpected things happen and closings get pushed back hours and sometimes even days after the original close date. Sometimes if you are closing late in the day your mortgage may not be recorded until the next day and you may not get your keys until the next day. Sometimes your purchase agreement may state that you will not get your keys until 3 days after close or something along those lines so make sure you read your purchase agreement carefully and plan everything accordingly. You do not want to schedule any of these people to be at your house until a time when you are sure you will have full access to the home. This will save you money from possibly being charged trip charges or even more if they are unable to get access to the home when they are scheduled.

Another thing to avoid is allowing multiple lenders and or brokers pull your credit report repeatedly. If the credit pulls are not done within a certain period of time of each other it will drop your credit score.