When looking to buy…
…a home not only make sure you don’t make any new purchases or take on any new debt but do not be tempted to utilize any buy now and don’t make a payment for 2 years or any buy now, pay later deals. These may seem very tempting especially if you see a great deal, which always seems to happen when you are buying a new home, but a lender will still require this to be added to your debt to income ratio. If you can not show proof of what the minimum payment is going to be on one of these deals, generally the lender will require 5% of the balance to be used for a payment to include into your debt ratio. This can ultimately affect your approval, your rate or both. So wait until you get the house and you have closed on your loan to go out and start buying.
