5 Mistakes That Can Derail Your Home Purchase — And How to Avoid Them

Written By: Jenny Aldrete | CEO The Realtor Hive

You’ve found the home. The offer is accepted. But the road from contract to closing is full of landmines — and most of them are completely avoidable.

Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make, and the process doesn’t end the moment your offer gets accepted. From contract to closing, your financial profile is under a microscope — and the moves you make during that window matter more than most buyers realize. Here are the five most common mistakes that put closings at risk, and what to do instead.

1) Opening New Credit or Making Large Purchases

You’ve been pre-approved, the house is perfect, and you’re already mentally arranging furniture in the living room. So you swing by the furniture store and open a new credit card to furnish the place. It feels harmless — but it can unravel months of work in a single afternoon.

Lenders pull your credit at the beginning of the loan process, and at the end they do a credit refresh to make sure there were no unexpected changes. A new line of credit, a financed appliance, a car payment — any of these can lower your credit score, raise your debt-to-income ratio, and change what you qualify for. Suddenly, the loan you were approved for no longer fits your profile.

The Hive Rule: Put the credit cards down and step away from the furniture store until after you have your keys in hand. The couch can wait. The closing cannot.

2) Changing Jobs Without Telling Your Loan Officer

Life happens — and sometimes a better opportunity comes along right in the middle of a home purchase. Switching jobs isn’t automatically a dealbreaker, but doing it without looping in your loan officer is. Lenders need to verify stable, consistent income, and a job change — especially a switch from salaried to self-employed or contract work — can trigger a whole new round of underwriting requirements.

Even a lateral move with a pay increase can cause delays if your loan officer doesn’t have time to document it properly. The worst case scenario? The file gets denied days before closing.

The Hive Rule: Before you accept any offer letter or sign anything with a new employer, pick up the phone and call your loan officer first. One conversation can save the entire deal.

3) Dragging Your Feet on Documents

Your loan officer needs documents — pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, insurance declarations — and they need them quickly. When buyers treat document requests like optional homework, everyone loses. Underwriters work on timelines, and missing or late paperwork creates a domino effect that pushes the entire closing back.

The Hive Rule: Treat every document request like it’s urgent — because it is. When your loan officer or agent asks for something, get it back to them the same day if at all possible. Speed wins.

4) Making Large Cash Deposits Without a Paper Trail

Did your parents gift you money toward the down payment? Did you sell something valuable and deposit the cash? Did you transfer funds from a separate account? All of these things are completely fine — but only if your loan officer can document them. Unexplained large deposits raise serious red flags during underwriting. Lenders need to verify that your down payment funds are legitimate and not a secret loan.

The problem isn’t the money — it’s the mystery. Underwriters are required to source and explain every unusual deposit in your account, and “trust me, it’s fine” isn’t a sufficient answer.

The Hive Rule: Before you move any significant money, give your loan officer a heads up. Gift letters, transfer records, and documentation of sales are your best friends during this process.

5) Going Silent on Your Agent or Loan Officer

Buying a home involves a team — your real estate agent, your loan officer, and often a title company, inspector, and more. When buyers go quiet, miss calls, or take days to respond to emails, it stalls the entire process. Real estate transactions move fast, and there are hard deadlines tied to your contract.

Your agent and loan officer are in your corner, but they can only work with what you give them. Communication isn’t just good manners in a real estate transaction — it’s a strategy.

The Hive Rule: Commit to being reachable throughout your transaction. Check your email, return calls promptly, and let your team know if something comes up. They’re fighting for your closing — make it easy for them to do their job.

The Bottom Line

The stretch between contract and closing isn’t the time to make financial moves, go quiet, or wing it. Stay consistent, stay communicative, and trust your team. Your agent and loan officer have seen it all — lean on their guidance, and you’ll get to the closing table without the drama. You’re closer than you think. Don’t let a preventable mistake be the thing that stands between you and your new home.

Questions about getting started? Email [email protected], and I will get you in touch with one of our loan officers.