Can you take out a car loan, personal loan or furniture financing between signing the purchase contract and closing? You can, but your lender will almost certainly find it. The lender then adds the payment to your debt-to-income ratio and sends the file back to underwriting, and that can undo an approval you already have.

To avoid that, call your loan officer before you sign anything and get the answer in writing. This page walks through that call and what to do with the answer.

Have these four things ready

  • The new loan's monthly payment and number of payments

    Fannie Mae counts installment debt with more than 10 monthly payments remaining. Loans with 10 or fewer remaining payments can generally be left out, unless the payment still materially affects your ability to repay.

  • Your current debt-to-income ratio, from your loan officer

    Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is your monthly debts, including the new house payment, divided by your gross monthly income. Fannie Mae's ceiling is 50% for loans approved through Desktop Underwriter, its automated system, and 45% for manually underwritten loans.

  • Your closing date

    This tells you how many days you have to absorb a delay if the file goes back to underwriting.

  • A way to reach your loan officer in writing

    Use email or the lender's portal. A verbal answer is hard to rely on later.

Five steps to an answer before you sign

  1. Hold off on the application

    Even applying leaves a mark. Desktop Underwriter reviews credit inquiries to flag possible undisclosed debt, so an application alone can draw questions. It worked if: no new inquiry or account appears on your credit.

  2. Email your loan officer the loan's terms

    Include the monthly payment, the number of payments, and what the loan is for. Ask for your DTI recalculated with the new payment included. It worked if: you get back a number, not a general warning.

  3. Ask whether the file would go back to underwriting

    Fannie Mae's rule is direct: "The lender must add the debt to the loan application and resubmit the loan." Under the DTI section of the Selling Guide, if the lender pulls a new credit report after the underwriting decision, it must re-underwrite the loan. It worked if: you know whether this means a resubmission or a full re-underwrite.

  4. Ask how many days that would add

    None of the sources gives a fixed figure, because it depends on your lender's queue. For scale, AmeriSave puts formal underwriting at 5 to 14 days and clearing conditions at 3 to 10. The average purchase loan closed in 36.8 days in March 2026, per ICE data, which leaves little slack. It worked if: you can compare the added days against your closing date.

  5. Wait until after closing, unless the answer is a clear yes

    If the loan officer says the payment fits and the timeline holds, proceed and send the signed loan papers the same day. Otherwise, wait. It worked if: your closing date doesn't move.

The effect of one payment is bigger than it looks. In The Mortgage Reports' example, a borrower with $6,000 a month in income and $800 in existing debt is at 13.3% DTI. One $400 personal loan payment takes that to 20%, a jump of nearly 7 points. In an Equifax analysis of over 98 million originations, 36% of borrowers who opened a single new account before closing saw DTI rise by 3 points or more.

What if you already signed, or the lender says no?

Very likely. Lenders run undisclosed debt monitoring, which uses soft pulls that don't affect your score to watch your credit from application through closing. [Certified Credit](https://www.certifiedcredit.com/udm-is-not-just-a-fraud-tool-it-is-a-pipeline-protection-strategy/) notes that undisclosed liabilities were Fannie Mae's top loan defect for several years through Q4 2024. Tell your loan officer today. Fannie Mae requires a reasonable explanation for undisclosed debt and lets the lender ask for documents to support it.

Yes. Fannie Mae requires the lender to recalculate DTI for any debt discovered after approval but before or at closing. The [final credit refresh](/clear-to-close/) is where new debt usually turns up. If the new DTI is over 50% on a Desktop Underwriter loan, or 45% on a manual one, the loan is ineligible as approved.

Ask your loan officer whether paying the loan down to 10 or fewer remaining payments would let them exclude it. Any lower payment they use needs documentation behind it. If neither works, the approved loan amount shrinks. One loan officer estimates a $400 car payment can cut borrowing power by more than $60,000 at 2026 rates. What fixes are possible depends on your lender.

Yes, if it runs longer than 10 payments. As loan officer Jeremy Drobeck puts it: "That 'no interest for 24 months' furniture deal will show up on your final credit refresh." No interest doesn't mean no monthly payment.

Once you have a written answer, you know whether this loan can wait. In most cases waiting is the safe call, along with holding off on opening any new credit until you have the keys. If you still need the loan after closing, state law controls what the lender can charge you.

What can a West Virginia installment loan charge after you close?

The limits state law puts on small-dollar installment loans in West Virginia.

Read the West Virginia loan rules