The Dos and Don’ts When Buying a Home (and the Golden Rule)

The dos and don’ts when buying a home all reduce to one rule: between pre-approval and closing, don’t buy anything big, don’t borrow anything, and don’t move money around — without calling your loan officer first. Your mortgage approval is a snapshot of your finances on the day you were underwritten. Lenders don’t just take that snapshot once and file it away; they re-check the picture right before closing. If the picture changed — a new car payment, a new job, a mystery deposit — the approval can change with it. Here’s the honest lender’s version of the full list, from the day you’re pre-approved to the day you get keys.

The Golden Rule

Don’t buy, don’t borrow, don’t move money — without calling your loan officer first. A 30-second call beats a 30-day delay.

That’s the whole rule. Everything else in this article is a footnote to it. Notice what the rule doesn’t say: it doesn’t say you can’t buy the washer and dryer, take the new job, or accept a gift from your parents. Plenty of those moves are perfectly fine. It says ask first, because the difference between “fine” and “closing delayed three weeks” often comes down to timing and paperwork that a loan officer can see and you can’t.

Our take: most closing-week disasters we see were completely avoidable, and almost none of them came from bad intentions. They came from reasonable people making reasonable-sounding money moves without realizing underwriting would have to explain every one of them. The two keys to a smooth mortgage are fast documents and no surprises — and both are entirely in your control.

Why your finances get re-checked before closing

This is the part most buyers don’t know, and it’s why the Golden Rule exists. Approval isn’t a one-time event:

• A pre-closing credit refresh. Most lenders re-check your credit shortly before funding — a practice that traces back to Fannie Mae’s Loan Quality Initiative, which pushed lenders to catch debts taken on after the original application. New accounts, new inquiries, and balance jumps show up.
• A debt-to-income recalculation if anything new appears. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide requires lenders to recalculate your debt-to-income ratio when new debt is disclosed or discovered any time up to closing — and if the new number breaks the program’s limit, the loan is no longer eligible as approved.
• A fresh employment check. For salaried and hourly borrowers, employment is typically re-verified within 10 business days before your loan documents are signed. If you quietly changed jobs in week three, the lender finds out in week six — the worst possible time.
• A final review of your Closing Disclosure. The CFPB requires your lender to deliver a Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you close, and certain changes can restart that clock.

None of this is your lender being nosy. It’s the rulebook every lender plays by. Work with it and closings are boring — which is exactly what you want.

The don’ts: six ways to sink an approved loan

These are the classics. Every loan officer in El Paso County has war stories about each one.

1. Don’t take on new debt — no cars, no furniture, no new cards

This is the big one, and it happens in the happiest possible way: you go under contract on a new build out on the Powers corridor, and suddenly the furniture store’s “no payments for 12 months” offer looks harmless. It isn’t. A financed furniture set, a new truck, or a fresh credit card all add monthly obligations to your debt-to-income ratio — and the pre-closing credit refresh will surface them. It’s one of the most common mistakes to avoid after pre-approval. The furniture will still be there the week after closing. Buy it then.

2. Don’t change jobs without a phone call

Job changes are not automatically disqualifying — people get promoted, PCS orders come through Fort Carson, better offers happen. But pay structure matters enormously: moving from salary to commission, from W-2 to 1099, or into a role with a probation period can change how (or whether) your income counts. Because employment gets re-verified within 10 business days of signing, a surprise job change discovered at the finish line can push closing back weeks. Call your loan officer before you accept, not after you start.

3. Don’t shuffle money between accounts

Moving, say, $8,000 from savings to checking to your brokerage and back feels like organizing. To an underwriter, it’s three transactions that each need a statement and an explanation. Every transfer creates a paper trail someone has to reconstruct — usually you, at 9 p.m., hunting for a statement from an account you forgot you had. Leave your money where it was when you applied.

4. Don’t make large, unsourced cash deposits

Under Fannie Mae’s rules, a single deposit larger than 50% of your total monthly qualifying income is a “large deposit” that must be documented to an acceptable source. Cash is nearly impossible to source — there’s no statement showing where physical currency came from. If a deposit can’t be explained, the lender may simply have to ignore that money, which can leave you short on your down payment on paper even though the cash is sitting right there. If family is helping, using gift funds for a down payment is completely fine — there is just a right way to document it, and it starts with a gift letter, not an envelope of twenties.

5. Don’t co-sign for anyone

Co-signing your brother’s auto loan makes his payment show up on your credit report, and in most cases the lender counts it as your debt unless you can document that someone else has been making the payments. Generous instinct, terrible timing. Tell your brother the answer is “after closing.”

6. Don’t wait until the last week to shop homeowners insurance

Your lender needs proof of insurance before closing, and in Colorado Springs — one of the hail capitals of America — quotes can vary widely and some carriers take their time. Buyers who wait until the final week sometimes face premiums that strain their approved payment, or a scramble that delays the closing itself. Start quoting as soon as you’re under contract.

The dos (and the Golden Rule)

The dos are shorter, because doing this right is genuinely simple:

• Live the Golden Rule. Before any purchase, loan, or money move: 30-second call. It beats a 30-day delay every time.
• Respond to document requests fast. Same-day beats next-week. A loan file is an assembly line, and everything that happens after your offer is accepted runs on a schedule — appraisal, underwriting, clear-to-close. The buyer who returns documents the same afternoon closes on time; the one who takes five days to find a pay stub becomes the bottleneck.
• Keep paper trails for everything. Save every bank statement, deposit slip, and gift letter. If money moves, keep the record that explains it. Underwriters don’t need your money to be complicated or impressive — they need it to be traceable.
• Stay employed and keep pay stubs coming. Same job, same hours, same pay structure until the loan funds. Remember: re-verified within 10 business days of signing.
• Get insurance quotes early. Under contract this week? Quote insurance this week.
• Verify wire instructions by phone — every time. More on this below, because it’s the one mistake on this list you can’t undo.

Credit behavior deserves its own deeper list — we wrote a separate guide to the credit dos and don’ts while buying a house that covers inquiries, balances, and disputed accounts in detail.

The one “don’t” that can cost you everything: wire fraud

Everything above costs you time. This one can cost you your entire down payment. Criminals compromise the email accounts of people involved in real estate transactions, watch for a closing, then send buyers realistic-looking “updated wiring instructions” days before settlement. The money goes to the fraudster’s account, and recovery is often impossible. The CFPB’s guidance on mortgage closing scams is blunt: confirm wire instructions by phone, at a number you already know and trusted before the emails started flying — never a number from the email itself. Treat any last-minute change to wiring instructions as fraud until a live human you’ve spoken with before confirms otherwise. If you know what to expect on closing day, this verification step takes five minutes and belongs on everyone’s checklist.

What “call first” actually sounds like

Buyers sometimes hesitate to call because they assume the answer will be no, or that they’re bothering someone. Here’s what those calls actually sound like on our end:

• “Can I put the movers on my credit card?” — Usually fine at a modest amount on an existing card; let’s confirm your ratios have room.
• “My parents want to give us $10,000.” — Wonderful. Illustrative example: with a gift letter and a documented transfer, that $10,000 counts cleanly; handed over as cash, it may count as zero.
• “I got a better job offer.” — Congratulations. Let’s look at the start date, pay structure, and closing timeline before you give notice.

Notice the pattern: the answer is rarely “no.” It’s “yes, this way.” That’s the entire value of asking first.

If you’re buying in Colorado Springs and want a loan officer who actually answers that 30-second call, talk to a local mortgage broker in Colorado Springs who walks buyers through this every week.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy furniture or appliances right after closing? Yes. Once your loan has funded and recorded, your mortgage approval can’t be undone by new purchases. The freeze applies between application and funding — after you have the keys, furnish away.

Will changing jobs always delay my mortgage? No, but it always needs a conversation. A same-field W-2 move with equal or better pay is often workable; a switch to commission, 1099, or self-employment can change how your income qualifies. Since employment is re-verified within about 10 business days of signing, tell your loan officer before you accept the offer.

Why do lenders care about a large cash deposit if it’s my own money? Because they must document that funds used in the transaction come from an acceptable source, and under Fannie Mae’s guideline a single deposit over 50% of your monthly qualifying income has to be sourced. Unverifiable deposits may simply be excluded from your available funds.

Do lenders really pull credit again before closing? Most do — a “credit refresh” or undisclosed-debt check shortly before funding. If new debt appears, the lender must recalculate your debt-to-income ratio, which can mean re-underwriting, a delayed closing, or in the worst case a loan that no longer qualifies.

Is it OK to move money if I keep records? Records help enormously, but the honest answer is: ask first anyway. Some moves are effortless to document and some create weeks of back-and-forth. Your loan officer can tell you which is which in one phone call — that’s the Golden Rule working as intended.

719 Lending, NMLS #1601989. Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is educational only and is not financial or legal advice; program details and figures are general — confirm current. 719 Lending is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. Last updated: July 2026.