You've found the house. Your offer has been accepted. Your lender has approved your financing. Now you're thinking about everything you'll need for your new home. Maybe the old sofa won't work in the new living room. The appliance store is offering 0% financing. Or perhaps this seems like the perfect time to replace your car.

Wait until after closing.

We've seen buyers innocently make financial decisions during the mortgage process that suddenly put their loan approval at risk. We've even seen real estate agents nearly brought to tears when they discover their buyer celebrated the new house by financing a car or a room full of furniture before closing.

The buyer's reaction is usually understandable: "But I can afford it. I already qualified for the mortgage." That's not necessarily the issue.

Your Mortgage Approval Is Based on a Snapshot

When your lender approves your mortgage, that decision is based on your financial picture at that time: your income, employment, credit, debts, available assets and other information. Change that picture, and the lender may have to evaluate it again.

For example, Fannie Mae guidelines require lenders to account for liabilities affecting a borrower's ability to make the mortgage payment. If additional debt is discovered after underwriting and before or at closing, the lender may need to recalculate the borrower's debt-to-income ratio and, depending on the change, re-underwrite the loan.

That new $600 car payment might be perfectly manageable within your household budget. But it wasn't part of the financial picture your lender used when approving your mortgage.

Don't Celebrate the New House Too Soon

Furniture is one of our favorite examples because the temptation is so understandable. You've already mentally moved in. You know where the sofa is going. There's a sale this weekend and the furniture store says you don't have to pay anything for 12 months. What's the harm?

Financing the purchase can create a new credit inquiry and a new debt. Fannie Mae specifically instructs lenders to examine credit inquiries for potential undisclosed new credit, and newly obtained debt can require the loan application to be updated.

Your "Don't Do" list specifically warns buyers not to apply for new credit or finance purchases such as cars or furniture while their mortgage is in process.  The furniture will still be there after closing. So will the cars.

It Isn't Just New Debt

There are other seemingly harmless things that can create complications. Changing jobs, moving money between accounts, making a large cash purchase, depositing a large amount of money that can't easily be documented, closing credit cards, disputing something on your credit report, or changing the balances on existing accounts can all create questions that need to be resolved.

Your list also reminds buyers to document non-payroll deposits, avoid large purchases that reduce verified bank balances, and notify their lender about employment or income changes.

That doesn't necessarily mean you can't do any of those things. It means you shouldn't do them without talking to your lender first.

The Simplest Rule

From mortgage application until the keys are in your hand, try to keep your financial life boring.

• Don't open new credit.
• Don't finance anything.
• Don't make unexplained changes to your bank accounts.
• Don't change jobs without talking with your lender.
• Don't assume that because you've been approved, nothing can affect that approval.

And when you're unsure? Call your loan officer before you do it, not afterward. That's the person who can tell you whether a particular financial decision will affect your loan.

Once you've closed and we confirm the transaction is complete and on record, you can start thinking about the new sofa. Just please don't buy it on the way to the closing.