Why Buying a New Car Could Kill Your Home Buying Dreams

Attention house hunters! Don't change your financial picture right before a home purchase!

While you are seriously home shopping, don't make any big purchases on credit. Don't buy a car or purchase an expensive vacation. Any significant purchases will alter your financial picture, and the banks don't like to see sudden changes just before issuing you a loan.

Be aware that positive changes -- such as paying off balances on all your credit cards -- are exactly the kind of financial moves you should be making, but these won't immediately show up on your credit report. It may take months for those newly low balances to boost your credit scores. So plan ahead -- even once the bank has run a credit check and you have been approved, they may decide to do a final re-check.

Wait to make any big financial moves until after you own the house you have your eyes on.

-Michael

Michael Corbett is Trulia's real estate and lifestyle expert. He is also the host of EXTRA's Mansions and Millionaires on NBC. In addition to his regular segments on ABC's The View and Fox News, he is a national best selling author with three critically acclaimed real estate books:Find It, Fix It, FLIP IT!; Ready, Set, SOLD! and Before You BUY! His years of experience in buying, renovating, and selling homes have made him a sought-after nationally recognized real estate expert.