7 Mistakes You Might Make During the Mortgage Closing Process

When it comes to buying a home, getting approved for a mortgage is only half the battle. You'll also need to get through the closing process, which can easily take 30 to 60 days. And here are a few mistakes you'll want to avoid during that time.

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You're allowed to spend money while waiting for your mortgage to close -- but one thing you will want to avoid are large purchases, like furniture or electronics, that you need to pay off over time. Those could impact your debt-to-income ratio, which is a measure that mortgage lenders look at when deciding if you're eligible for a loan. If your ratio climbs, your lender could withdraw your loan offer.

Being late on your bills is a good way to send your credit score plummeting -- and that's a big red flag for mortgage lenders. Once you're more than 30 days late, your delinquency can be reported to the credit bureaus, and that's a situation you'll want to avoid.

Getting a new credit card may seem like an innocent move, but it'll impact your credit score -- and your lender may not like that. Also, your lender might question why it is you need access to more credit -- and when you're trying to close on a mortgage, you don't want your lender questioning anything.

You may be inclined to close a credit card you're not using. But that could end up being a mistake. If it's a card you've had for a long time, closing it could impact your credit history and lower your credit score in the process. And that could, in turn, compromise your mortgage.

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Your lender needs to see that you have a stable source of income to approve you for a mortgage. If you leave your job before your loan is finalized, your lender might pull that offer -- even if you have a nice amount of savings to point to.

If you switch jobs within the same field during the closing process, it may have not a huge impact. But if you move from one field to another, your lender may get nervous and question whether your new job is viable and steady. Therefore, it's best to put off a job change if you can until after your mortgage is finalized.

There's a reason lenders typically ask to see a few months of bank statements before giving you a loan -- they want to make sure you have adequate cash reserves for a down payment and to cover the ongoing costs of homeownership. But if your lender asks for a copy of your bank statement right before your loan closes and notices a large withdrawal, it may get suspicious. Therefore, be careful when giving out a loan -- you don't want it to impact an important loan of yours!

Many people assume that once they get mortgage approval, their home loans are a done deal. In reality, a lot can go wrong between when you're approved for a mortgage and when that loan closes, so avoid these mistakes to the best of your ability for a smooth process from start to finish.

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As long as you pay them off each month, credit cards are a no-brainer for savvy Americans. They protect against fraud far better than debit cards, help raise your credit score, and can put hundreds (or thousands!) of dollars in rewards back in your pocket each year.

But with so many cards out there, you need to choose wisely. This top-rated card offers the ability to pay 0% interest on purchases until late 2021, has some of the most generous cash back rewards we’ve ever seen (up to 5%!), and somehow still sports a $0 annual fee.

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