Do’s and Don’ts in credit when buying a home

Aug 4, 2010

The real estate industry and mortgage industry have undergone some major changes in the last few years. Especially in light of the all the changes to GFE (Good Faith Estimates) and TILA (Truth In Lending), the most important thing for buyers to do is carefully choose their Realtor® and mortgage broker and plan to work as a team. This is so critical. The failure to do so will likely cause headaches no one wants in the buyers transaction. When the buyer, Realtor® and mortgage broker work like a well-oiled machine, almost any obstacle can be handled or, more importantly, avoided altogether. In my opinion, it is best to work with Realtors® and mortgage brokers who have done lots of business together in the past. Both professionals can steer you around pitfalls and provide tips that will make the entire sales transaction go smoothly. If a transaction is handled well, from the buyer’s perspective, everything should seem really easy.

You must follow the advice you are given – there are lots of DOs and DON’Ts to consider regarding your credit while in the buying process. Here are my favorite top five DOs and DON’Ts:

Don’t — move money around between accounts.
Don’t — buy a car (or use your credit facility during the course of buying a home).
Do — have proof of the source of funds you will use for the down payment and closing costs.
Do — go to http://www.optoutprescreen.com/ and opt out of credit card offers for five years.
Do – ask lots of questions of your mortgage broker and Realtor® and don’t take answers without real content.

To learn more about Alaris Properties and our long term relationships with our mortgage partners, visit us at www.alarisproperties.com.

Jon Terry

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