What Not to Do After Going Under Contract in Dallas
Going under contract starts underwriting, not the finish line. Here are 9 financial moves Dallas buyers must avoid between contract and clear-to-close.
What should Dallas home buyers avoid doing after going under contract?
Going under contract starts the underwriting clock, and your lender will verify your finances again before you reach the closing table. The most common mistakes are opening new credit accounts, financing a large purchase, changing jobs, making unexplained cash deposits, and co-signing for someone else. Any of these can change your debt-to-income ratio or credit profile enough to trigger re-underwriting or an outright denial, even if your initial pre-approval was solid.
By Paul Blair | October 10, 2026
The offer is accepted. You have handed over the option fee, signed the TREC contract, and let yourself picture where the couch is going to go.
Then someone buys a car.
It happens more than you would think. Buyers who have been approved for a $580,000 house in Frisco or McKinney walk off the lot with a $45,000 truck before closing and then get the call from their lender that the deal is dead.
A pre-approval letter is not the same as a clear-to-close. Your lender approved a snapshot of your finances on a specific date. Between the day you went under contract and the day you sign at the title company, they are going to look at that picture again.
Here are nine things that can change it, and cost you the house.
1. Open a new credit account
Opening a credit card, a store line of credit, or any new financing account shows up as a hard inquiry on your credit report. Hard inquiries lower your score. A new account also adds to your debt obligations, which lenders factor directly into your debt-to-income ratio.
Even a promotional "no payments for 12 months" offer counts. The line of credit appears on your report as soon as the account is opened, regardless of the balance.
2. Finance a car or large purchase
This is the one that kills the most deals.
A new car payment of $500 per month does not sound significant until you see what it does to your numbers. On a $600,000 purchase in Plano, your principal and interest at current rates runs roughly $3,200 per month. Add approximately $1,100 for Collin County property taxes and $200 for homeowners insurance, and your PITI sits around $4,500 per month. For a household income of $120,000, that puts you right at the 43 percent debt-to-income ceiling most conventional lenders apply.
Add a $500 car payment, and you are at 50 percent DTI. The loan gets denied.
Furniture, appliances, and anything else you finance before closing carries the same risk.
3. Change jobs or go self-employed
Your lender approved you based on your current employment and income history. If you change employers, even for a higher salary, you reset the employment stability clock. Lenders typically want to see at least 30 days of pay stubs at the new job before they will count that income.
Going self-employed is more disruptive. Self-employment income requires two full years of tax returns before most lenders will use it for qualification purposes. Switching to 1099 work after you go under contract can effectively erase your qualifying income overnight.
4. Make large unexplained cash deposits
Underwriters trace every deposit in your bank accounts to confirm it is not a loan that will add to your repayment obligations. An unusually large deposit, typically anything above 25 percent of your gross monthly income, will require documentation: a gift letter, a written explanation, or records showing the source.
If you sell furniture, collect rent from a tenant, or receive cash from a family member as a gift, talk to your lender before the deposit clears. Getting the paperwork in order before money hits the account is easier than reconstructing a paper trail afterward.
5. Co-sign a loan for anyone else
If someone asks you to co-sign a car loan, student loan, or personal loan before you close, the answer is no. Co-signing adds the monthly payment obligation to your debt-to-income ratio even if you never make a single payment yourself. Lenders do not distinguish between whose money actually covers the bill.
6. Pay off all your debt at once without telling your lender
This one surprises most buyers, but suddenly paying off multiple accounts can flag your file for additional scrutiny. The underwriter will want to know where the funds came from, and a large transfer out of your accounts to pay down debt creates the same documentation question as a large deposit.
Paying down debt strategically to improve your DTI can sometimes help your case, but coordinate with your lender before you do it. A move that looks smart on its own can create a documentation problem you did not anticipate.
7. Miss a payment on any existing account
A 30-day late payment during underwriting can drop your credit score 50 to 100 points and trigger a full re-underwriting review. Set auto-pay on every account and verify it is running from contract to close. This is not the time to rely on manual bill-pay.
8. Ignore your lender's document requests
Your lender will ask for updated documents during underwriting: recent pay stubs, bank statements, letters of explanation for anything flagged. Slow responses can push back your closing date, and in Texas, that creates a specific risk.
The TREC Third Party Financing Addendum sets a financing approval deadline in the contract. If you have not received written loan approval by that date, the seller may have grounds to declare the contract terminated. Missing a lender's information request by a few days can cascade into missing a contract deadline.
9. Lose track of the option period as your exit window
The Texas option period is your only penalty-free exit from the contract. During those days, typically five to ten for a DFW resale, you can terminate for any reason and your earnest money comes back. Once the option period expires, your ability to exit without losing the earnest money you deposited depends on a valid contingency: financing approval, title issues, or something found during inspection that the seller will not remedy.
If your financial picture shifts after the option period ends and your lender denies the loan, you may be able to invoke the financing contingency in the Third Party Financing Addendum, but that outcome depends on the specific facts and timing. The easier path is to protect your deal during the option period and keep your finances stable until closing.
Currently under contract in Plano, McKinney, Frisco, or Allen? Collin County approved its first property tax rate increase in 33 years in September 2026. If your lender calculated your PITI using last year's rate, your qualification numbers may need to be verified. Reach out here to review where things stand.
Why DFW Property Taxes Make the DTI Math Unforgiving
Texas has no state income tax, and that is part of what draws buyers relocating from California or New York. The trade-off is some of the highest property tax rates in the country, and in Dallas County and Collin County, those rates hit harder than buyers typically expect when they first run the numbers.
In Collin County cities like Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Prosper, and Celina, effective tax rates run 2.0 to 2.5 percent of appraised value. On a $600,000 home, that is $12,000 to $15,000 per year, or $1,000 to $1,250 added to your monthly payment before principal, interest, or insurance.
Those numbers compress your DTI from the start. A buyer who looks comfortable on a mortgage calculator might discover they are closer to the qualification ceiling than they realized once lender fees and full PITI are in the picture.
The Collin County rate increase in 2026 adds a wrinkle for buyers who went under contract in the second half of the year. If the tax estimate your lender used during pre-approval reflected the prior rate, the monthly PITI could be slightly higher than the number in your approval letter. It is worth a conversation with your loan officer to confirm the figures have not changed.
When you get to the closing table, your Closing Disclosure will show your exact PITI alongside every other fee, and your lender is required to deliver that document at least three business days before your closing date. By then, you will have a precise number, but the time to verify it is during underwriting, not at the table.
Understanding what your lender is reviewing during underwriting can prevent a denial at the worst possible moment.
Buying new construction in Prosper, Celina, or Anna? Builder closings often run 30 to 45 days from contract, which is a longer window for financial changes to compound. The same rules apply, and the stakes are the same. Connect here if you want to walk through your financing timeline before your loan commitment deadline.
The One Rule That Covers Everything
Call your lender before you make any financial move. That is it.
Before you finance a purchase, change accounts, deposit a large amount, or sign anything involving money, a two-minute phone call or text to your loan officer tells you whether the move is safe. Most lenders can answer the question the same day. That is a shorter time investment than losing your earnest money or your deal.
The transaction side of the equation works the same way. The TREC contract has specific deadlines: the option period, the financing approval date, the closing date. A buyer's agent who is tracking those milestones and staying in sync with your lender creates a buffer against the kind of cascade where a missed information request becomes a missed approval deadline.
Once you have protected your file and your lender issues a clear-to-close, you have made it through the part of the process where deals actually fall apart. Everything after that is paperwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy a car while under contract for a house in Texas?
You should not finance any vehicle purchase after going under contract until after you close. A new car payment increases your monthly debt obligations and can push your debt-to-income ratio above the threshold your lender used for approval. Even a modest payment can be enough to trigger re-underwriting or denial on a purchase in the $500,000 to $750,000 range in DFW, where Texas property taxes already account for a significant portion of your PITI.
Will my lender check my credit again before closing in Texas?
Yes. Most lenders run a soft credit pull in the days immediately before closing to verify that nothing material has changed since underwriting was completed. Some lenders pull credit again at clear-to-close. Any new accounts, hard inquiries, or missed payments that appear after the original underwriting can trigger a review and potentially delay or derail the closing.
What counts as a "large deposit" during underwriting?
A common threshold is any deposit that exceeds 25 percent of your gross monthly income, but lenders apply their own guidelines. The key trigger is any deposit that appears out of pattern with your normal account activity. Cash deposits, large transfers, and payments described as gifts all require documentation. If you are expecting to receive money from any source between contract and close, tell your lender in advance.
Can I change jobs after going under contract in Texas?
Changing jobs after going under contract is permitted, but it creates risk. Lenders want to see consistency in employment type and income. A lateral move to a salaried position in the same field at the same or higher income is typically manageable with documentation. Moving from salary to commission, going self-employed, or changing industries can require additional verification that may not be resolvable within your closing timeline.
Do I need a buyer's agent who understands the financing timeline to protect my deal?
Yes, and this is where the agent's role goes beyond negotiation. The TREC contract contains specific deadlines tied to financing approval, and missing those deadlines can put your earnest money at risk. An experienced buyer's agent tracks those milestones, coordinates with your lender on the approval timeline, and flags situations like the Collin County property tax rate change that may affect your qualification before they become a problem at the table. The financing period is when most deals fall apart, and having someone who knows where the pressure points are makes a material difference.
Going under contract is not the finish line. It is the start of the underwriting clock, and the financial decisions you make during that window determine whether you actually close.
The rule is straightforward: do not change your financial picture without talking to your lender first. It applies to every purchase, every account, every deposit, and every career decision between contract and clear-to-close.
If you are under contract in DFW or getting close to making an offer, I am happy to walk through the timeline and make sure you are set up to close. Reach out here.
About Paul Blair
Paul Blair is the founder and broker of Grey Square, a virtual real estate brokerage representing buyers and sellers across Dallas and Los Angeles. With 22 years in the business and more than $200 million in closed transactions, Paul works the full range of the market, from luxury homes in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow to estates in the Hollywood Hills and across the Westside. Connect with Paul and the Grey Square team at greysq.com. TX TREC #9011505 | CA DRE #01792671.
Sources: TREC Third Party Financing Addendum (Form 38-8) | Collin County FY2026-27 Tax Rate | KERANEWS: Collin County First Tax Rate Increase in Decades | Bankrate: Top Reasons Home Sales Fall Through