10 Commandments of Home Buying

If you are thinking of buying a home, here are some of the home buying mistakes that you should take note of and avoid. Most of it also applies before you get pre-approved, but this is really talking about specific things that you should never do once you get pre-approved.

First Commandment of Home Buying

Number one is thou shalt not change jobs, submit a resignation for your job, give a two-week notice, or become self-employed if you're not already self-employed when you started the process. 

Second Commandment of Home Buying

Number two, thou shalt not buy a car, a truck, an RV, a boat, or a motorcycle unless you plan to live in it. Don't be going out and buying vehicles or “toys”. You do not want to make that type of change and get an auto payment or a boat payment after you've already been pre-approved. 

Third Commandment of Home Buying

Number three is thou shalt not use your credit cards for large ticket items or open up any new accounts or new credit cards. 

Fourth Commandment of Home Buying

Number four, thou shalt not spend the money that you have saved for your down payment and your closing costs, or your buyer expenses. That's how they are defined in the purchase and sales agreement that you're going to be signing and they really cover closing costs, prepaid and lender fees, amongst other things.

Fifth Commandment of Home Buying

Number five is thou shalt not buy furniture before you officially have a home to put it in. Having a home is not picking a home or finding a home and going under contract. Having a home is when you close on your home. So don't do any of these things until after you've closed and money has transferred and you officially have the keys and you know that home is yours.

Sixth Commandment of Home Buying

Number six - thou shalt not allow anyone for any reason to pull your credit, even if you are offered a 10% discount or more. Do not fall for the I walked into XYZ store and they told me I could save X percentage of money today and for the rest of my life if I opened up a credit card.

Seventh Commandment of Home Buying

Number seven is thou shalt not move money around between different bank accounts, make any large deposits into your bank accounts, change banks, or close bank accounts. If you need to do any of those things, you need to always talk to your lender before you do them.

Eighth Commandment of Home Buying

Number eight is thou shalt not become a cosigner for credit for anyone or an authorized user on somebody else's account. It's a mistake that most people have made that keeps them from getting pre-approved in the first place and being able to buy a home.

No matter how much you love to help people, we all get carried away. We all think we're doing the right things, but do not cosign for other people even if they're paying their account on time. It's going to be detrimental to you and your credit score and your debt to income ratio. 

Ninth Commandment of Home Buying

Number nine -  thou shall not pay any bills late or miss any payments. Whatever you do, one of the things that will hurt your credit score the most and the fastest is to make late payments or not to make payments at all.

Tenth Commandment of Home Buying

And number ten - thou shalt not schedule your move-out date too close to your move-in date. Everybody works diligently, hoping to get to that closing date on time, but sometimes things happen and not everything is within our control.

​​Buying a home is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make. Whether it's your first or tenth, buying a home can be fraught with stress and anxiety. Please take note that this will depend on your current situation. My goal is to make the process as smooth and easy as possible.

Let’s have a conversation about your real estate goals and I’ll guide you through the process of buying a home in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Give me a call at (615) 930-0313, schedule a call with me, or send me a message! I love helping people and using my financial and legal background to guide you in finding your dream home!