When you’re buying a home, there’s always a lot at stake. You never want to do or possibly say something that can keep the offer from falling through. You have made it this far. You might have concerns and anticipations but you don’t want to change your financial situation and you don’t want to offend the seller or cause them and their agent to question your character or your ability to close the deal.
So, with that in mind, to increase the chances that everything goes well, here are a few points for buyers to remember:
Loose lips sink ships
The less you say, the less trouble you can get yourself into as far as a real estate transaction goes. This goes applies to your actions, too. Don’t do anything that will give your lender, or the selling side of the transaction any cause for alarm — even being a little wishy-washy will raise eyebrows with sellers. Your words and your actions should send the message that you are “all in” on the deal. You want the house!
Please do not quit your job
Although you have been pre-approved, or even hard approved for a loan, you have not received the mortgage yet — you don’t get that until closing day. Many lenders will do a final evaluation to verify that your employment situation hasn’t hasn’t changed at closing time. So, don’t quit your job, don’t change jobs and don’t get yourself fired during the process of your mortgage.
Don’t shop for things for your new house
Do not go out and buy new furniture for your new home. Just like changing jobs, you don’t want to do anything that will impact your ability to pay for your new home — do not take on additional debt. Debt levels can negatively affect your credit score overall. Before closing, your lender will likely have another look at your credit history. If your credit rating has changed, the lender might may want to lend to you at a higher rate of interest, or even worse — they may not want to lend to you at all!
If you think you got a deal, keep it a secret
Say the appraisal came in way over the selling price. (Awesome!!) Maybe through your search and the negotiations you know in your heart of hearts that you paid under market price. (Good for you!!) Maybe you would have paid more. Whatever it is, do not share this information with the home seller, they will NOT be happy knowing they lost money they never had, believe me.
Don’t talk about changes you are going to make to the house
Home sellers are living in and most likely love the home they are selling. They have emotional connection to the house. It is still their home. If you are intending to do a major overhaul of the place, keep that information to yourself.
Change is not always good
Asking for closing extensions and asking the sellers to do something that is not already in the agreement is usually frowned upon. Things like asking for furniture to be left behind or backyard play sets to be removed should be addressed very carefully (or not at all). Some things are not worth the fight, or the possibility of even losing the house.
There is always an exception to this rule. If there is a concern that comes up during the final walk through — that should be addressed immediately.
I’d love to help you through the process. Reach out and let’s chat!
