Buying a new home is both an exciting and stressful part of life.

You may think you’re prepared for this arduous process, only to have it all fall apart at the last second.

One of the flashpoints of conflict in purchasing a new home that few are aware of is loan pre-approval.

Being pre-approved for a home loan is crucial to the process if you’re financing your home (which you most likely will be).

However, pre-approval is not exactly what you think it is.  Pre-approval:

does not mean the process is over — you don’t actually have the loan yet at that point. At the final underwriting review just before the closing, your financial situation needs to be at least as good, if not better, than when you were approved for the home loan.

Remember that—you’ve been pre-approved, but that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear.

In fact, if you finance purchases during the time in between pre-approval and purchasing a home—such as a new car loan or a credit card—you can damage your credit score and alter your eligibility for a loan.

Lay low if you were pre-approved for a loan, and if you have any revolving credit accounts, this would be a good time to pay them down and increase your credit score. Taking on new debt during the process of purchasing a home just might lose your dream home.

not quite