Are you going to buy Charlotte real estate or Lake Norman real estate in the next 2 to 3 months? What will assist you the most in getting your loan approved is not to move your money (liquid assets) around during the process. These liquid assets are your checking account, savings account, money market funds, stocks, mutual funds and 401K plans. Like in the childhood game, red light – green light, the less movement of your money the better during this loan approval period. Moving your money around, even if you are consolidating your funds to make it easier, could make it more difficult for the lender to properly document the source of your funds. It is more time consuming for the mortgage underwriter to establish a complete paper trail of all deposits and withdrawals when there has been a lot of movement. The lender’s job is to establish that you have sufficient funds for a down payment and closing costs when they are processing your loan. Having a great credit score and  proof of available funds will move you one step closer to getting the “green light” on a loan approval.