Читать книгу Home Buying Kit For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 55
STRETCHING MORE THAN LENDERS ALLOW
ОглавлениеSometimes, prospective home buyers feel that they can handle more debt than lenders will allow. Such home buyers may seek to borrow more money from family or fib on their mortgage application about their income. (Self-employed people have the greatest opportunity to do this.) Such behavior isn’t unlike the shenanigans of some teenagers who drive above the speed limit, drink and smoke forbidden things, or stay out past curfew and sneak in the back door.
Although a few of these teenagers get away with such risky behavior, others end up in trouble academically or psychologically (or worse). The same is true of homeowners who stretch themselves financially thin to buy a more costly property. Some survive just fine, but others end up in financial, legal, and emotional trouble.
And, increasingly, home buyers who lie on their mortgage applications are getting caught. How? When you’re ready to close on your loan, lenders can (and often do) ask you to sign a form authorizing them to request a copy of your income tax return from the IRS. This allows the lender to validate your income. (See Chapter 7 for more details.)
So although we say that the lender’s word isn’t the gospel as to how much home you can truly afford, we will go on record as saying that telling the truth on your mortgage application is the only way to go (and prevents you from committing perjury and fraud). Telling the truth is not only honest but also helps keep you from getting in over your head financially. Bankers don’t want you to default on your loan, and you shouldn’t want to take the risk of doing so either.
Should you have consumer debt, be sure to read Chapter 2. Suffice it to say here that you should get out (and stay out) of consumer debt. Consumer debt has a high cost, and unlike the interest on a mortgage loan, the interest on consumer debt isn’t tax-deductible. And consumer debt handicaps your ability to qualify for and pay back your mortgage. Consumer debt is the financial equivalent of cancer.