Facts about moving:

Decluttering and purging early will save you from relocating things you don’t want or don’t need.

Creating a budget and sticking to it will help keep a home search on focus.

Keeping as much of the home routine in tack … bedtimes, dinner menus, etc … will ease stress.

Changing “who you are on paper” will turn a great adventure into a massive headache.

American Entrepreneur Jim Rohn said it best: “You can either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”

As a kid, my family moved multiple times. My parents tried to make it special for my sister and I by encouraging us to imagine our new bedroom paint colors and curtains. I’d see my mom flip through magazines, tagging the pages with sofas and fridges that would suit the new house. Yet never did they ever buy the big ticket items until they had the keys to the new house in their hands.

Today, we live in an immediate gratification society; we want what we want and we want it now. I get it!

However, the underwriter of your loan, does not understand that. They want to see that you have been responsible by way of the documentation you provide and that you remain responsible by not incurring new obligations, all the way through the funding of the loan.

In simple terms, don’t show up to closing with a new car.

Therefore, once you’ve decided it’s time to jump into the homebuyer pool, follow these rules:

Debt: Continue to pay all existing accounts on time, however, do not go running to Lowe’s over the holiday weekend to snag their latest deferred billing option and start buying all the shiny things thinking the billing doesn’t start until after closing. The pull on your credit shows immediately and can stop a transaction.

Bank Account: Money in, money out happens every day. You were paid by your company and you bought groceries at the store. These are normal and regular fund movements. A sudden depletion or large addition will cause the underwriter to ask for additional documentation to explain those monies so he or she can determine if a financial issue potentially effecting the banks investment has been created.

Employment: Don’t Quit Your Job. In fact, don’t change jobs without calling your lender to provide them details. What seems like a wonderful personal opportunity, such as leaving corporate American to open your own consulting firm, will bring the process to a halt.

House hunting is fun and house financing is stressful. By staying true to the documentation provided to the lender during the process, you’ll avoid heartbreak. And you can celebrate funding at Nebraska Furniture if you want to.