Key takeaways
- Your lender approved the version of you that applied. Stay that person until you have keys.
- Keep your job, skip the new car, pay every bill on time, open zero new credit and leave your savings where it is.
- Shopping multiple mortgage lenders is fine. Newer FICO scores count those inquiries as one within a 45-day window.
- If it involves a signature, a swipe or a new job title, call your lender first.
Here’s a sentence we hear a lot between contract and closing: "I hate my job."
Our answer, every time: we know. Love this house a little more. At least until you have the keys.
In more than 26 years of Atlanta real estate, we’ve watched solid deals wobble at the finish line for reasons that had nothing to do with the house. A new truck. A furniture store credit card. A job change nobody mentioned to the lender. Every one of them was avoidable.
So we have this conversation with buyers before the first showing, not after the first problem. Here’s the whole thing.
Why your finances still matter after you’re approved
A pre-approval is a snapshot. Underwriting watches the movie.
Between contract and closing, most lenders re-verify your employment and may check your credit again. They’re measuring your debt-to-income ratio (DTI): your monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income. For loans run through Fannie Mae’s automated underwriting, the maximum DTI is 50%, and many loans land well below that.
Translation: one new monthly payment can turn a "yes" into a "let’s talk." Here are the five moves that do it most often.
1. Don’t quit your job (or change it without a phone call)
We’ve had clients do it. They were miserable at work, the house was under contract, and it felt like the perfect time for a fresh start.
It’s not. Your income is the reason the loan works. Stay employed, at the same pay, until after closing.
- Changing jobs? Sometimes it’s fine, especially in the same line of work at the same or higher pay. Call your lender before you accept the offer, not after.
- Self-employed? Expect lenders to look for about two years of income history on your tax returns.
- Paid on 1099s? Have your contracts and income records ready to go.
2. Don’t buy the car (or the boat, or the RV)
A home is the biggest purchase most people make. The second biggest is usually something with wheels or a motor. Buying both in the same 30 days is how a debt-to-income ratio goes from comfortable to tight.
The truck will still be at the dealership after closing. We promise. It’s very patient.
3. Don’t miss a payment or run up your cards
Pay every bill on time, including the ones you forgot are on autopay. Keep your credit card balances low. Higher balances raise your monthly minimums and your credit utilization, and both show up in your file.
If you’re thinking about paying a card down to boost your score, great instinct. Ask your lender first. They’ll tell you which card to pay and whether to keep it open.
4. Don’t open new credit (yes, even the furniture store card)
This one is sneaky, because it feels responsible. New house, new couch, 0% for 18 months. What’s the harm?
A new account adds a new payment to your DTI and a hard inquiry to your credit report. According to myFICO, one additional inquiry takes fewer than five points off most people’s FICO Scores. Small, but at the edge of a loan approval, small matters. Closing old cards can hurt too, because it shrinks your available credit.
Make the wish list. Pin the paint colors. Build the vision board. Then buy after closing. Your new living room has waited this long.
The upside: shopping for a mortgage is different. In the newest FICO scoring models, mortgage inquiries within any 45-day window count as a single inquiry. Compare lenders freely.
5. Don’t drain your savings (or move it around)
Lenders care about cash as much as credit. You’ll bring your down payment, your closing costs and, for many loans, reserves left over after closing.
For context, the NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers puts the median down payment at 10% for first-time buyers and 23% for repeat buyers. Twenty percent down on a conventional loan avoids private mortgage insurance.
Leave your accounts alone. Large transfers without a paper trail will raise questions, and to an underwriter, every unexplained chunk of cash is a plot twist. Getting support from family? Ask your lender how to document it with a gift letter.
The one move to make instead
Call your lender first. Before the job change, the car, the card, the transfer. A five-minute phone call is cheaper than a delayed closing.
And shop lenders until you find one you trust. You’ll be talking to them a lot.
Want this on your fridge? Download our free Loan Processing Dos and Don’ts, the same one-page checklist we hand every buyer the day their offer is accepted.
Why we tell clients this before the first showing
Most of this list doesn’t apply if you’re paying cash. We once closed one of those for a long-time client who has bought and sold with us several times: $575,000, cash, $10,000 over list. It was the fastest closing of the year, because there was nothing to verify.
For everybody else, this list is your friend.
It’s also why our clients stay with us. 92% of our business comes from referrals, and many of our clients have been with us for 15 to 25 years. Nobody refers an agent because the closing got delayed. They refer the one who saw it coming and said something first. That’s why one of our favorite kickoff questions is: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how honest do you want us to be with you? 10 is brutal." Most people pick 10. The smart ones mean it.
Watch the conversation
We recorded this one in 2021, on a brand new couch, with a brand new camera setup. The couch has seen things since. 🍆 The advice still holds.
Getting your money ready to buy? Start with How to Budget With Irregular Income: The 4-Step System We Built After Bankruptcy.
This article shares our experience as real estate agents and is for education only. It is not financial, lending, tax or legal advice, and we are not lenders or loan officers. Loan requirements vary by lender and program and change over time, so talk with your lender before making any financial move during your purchase.
P.S. JAM Worldwide exists to help 25 people and families every year build legacy and wealth through real estate, and to coach the next generation of agents to build businesses that sustain and prosper without the burnout. 26 years in, referrals are still how this family business grows. Know someone house hunting? Send this their way, ideally before they visit a car dealership.
