Hi all.
The mortgage process is going well. I was pre-approved for conventional loan, and have found and house and am now under contract. We're expected to close 7/29. My lender doesn't see any problems at all coming up, unless a meteor falls out of the sky and smashes the house.
So, I'm starting to think about a few things I'd like to update/change in the house. One thing I want to do is replace the kitchen counters, and my home improvement store has a fantastic deal on right now that would save me nearly $500 on the job if I make the order this week. I can wait, but I lose out on the discount.
I am reluctant to tap my savings . . . I have cash in the bank for the downpayment and for 2 months reserves (the loan officer's recommendation). On top of that, I have some funds in retirement and other assets that were listed on the application. But, if I pay cash now, my savings would be depleted a bit. On the other hand, if they just look at bank statements, instead of current balance on closing day, then I'd have no problems as my July 1 statement would have all the cash still there.
So, I could pay for the counters easily on my credit card, but that would increase my utilization before closing. Now, there's a fair amount of buffer (my middle lender-pulled score was 769) so it would take a lot to get me down to 740 (the cut-off for the best rate). I could handle a few points drop in my score. But, would it raise a huge red flag to an underwriter if my credit utilization went up by a few percentage points before closing? I have read all the advice here that warns against seeking new credit - that's not what I'm doing. Just using some of the credit that I already have. Also, my loan officer said that my credit report was good for 90 days, and that he'd just be requesting a few line item updates before closing, not another full report.
So, yeah order now? Or eat the $500 and wait?
