No, no, never, not me
Clearly, there’s a lot at stake. You absolutely never want to do or say something that can keep the offer/agreement from going through. You have made it this far. You might have concerns and anticipations but you don’t want to change your financial situation and you don’t want to offend the seller or cause them and their agent to question your character or your ability to close.
There is an old saying “loosened lips sink ships”. The less you say, the less trouble you can get yourself into. That goes for your actions too. Don’t do anything that will give your lender, or the selling side of the transaction any cause for concern — even being a little wishy-washy will raise eyebrows. Your words and your actions should send the message that you are “all in” on the transaction. You want the house!
So, with that in mind, to increase the chances that everything goes well, here are five points to remember:
Don’t quit your day job
Although you have been pre-approved, you have not received the mortgage yet — you don’t get that until closing day. Many lenders will do a final evaluation to verify that your work situation hasn’t hasn’t changed at closing time. So, don’t quit your job, don’t change jobs and don’t get yourself fired.
Don’t go on a spending spree
Do not go out and buy new furniture for your new home. Just like changing jobs, do not do anything that will impact your ability to pay for your new home — do not take on too much debt. Debt levels can negatively affect your credit score. Before closing, your lender will likely have another look at your credit history. If your rating has changed, the lender might may want to lend to you at a higher rate of interest, or worse — they may not want to lend to you at all!
If you think you got a deal, keep it to yourself
Maybe the appraisal came in way over the selling price. Maybe through your search and the negotiations you know in your heart of hearts that you paid under market price. Maybe you would have paid more. Whatever it is, do not share this information with the home seller.
Never talk about changes you are going to make to the house
Home sellers are living in and likely liking the place they are selling. They have emotional connection to the house. It is still their home. If you are intending to do a major overhaul of the place, keep that information to yourself.
Change is not always good
Do not ask for a closing extension and do not ask the sellers to do something that is not already in the agreement. Things like asking for furniture to be left behind or backyard playsets to be removed should be addressed very carefully (or not at all).
The exception to this rule is if there is a concern that comes up during the final walk through — that should be addressed immediately.
