Closing home and trying to get a Tesla Model S before Super Charger expiry

[gentoo]

Hi all - Long time lurker here. Wonderful discussions all around.

I have been patiently waiting for home to complete before jumping on the purchase of Tesla. However, now that Supercharger leverage purchases must be made before December 31st, I am in a dilemma. My estimated home close is 1st week of April.

I have an excellent credit history and very comfortable with debt to income ration. Should I make a purchase on December 31st and plan on getting the car before April 1st and hope to close the home without any issues?

Expert advice please!

 

[Kenx008]

You should check with your mortgage officer just to make sure. I've been told not to make any large purchases before closing or it could be a potential problem.

 

[NikeWings]

Why would you ever (even potentially) compromise your home purchase for a car purchase? Bad trade. Please wait.

 

[sdorn]

Definitely check with your mortgage officer. They should be happy to tell you if it is an issue or not.

If this is your first home, or if your credit score is close to a threshold where you might drop a tier if you have a new line of credit open, you probably don't want to make a big purchase before you house closes. It would likely cost a lot more than having to pay to supercharge. Just refinancing my existing mortgage (with no increase to the principal) dropped my score from 850 to 830 for a few months.

 

[hollywood]

Free supercharging is awesome, but a house purchase is even better.

Just wait. Plus Tesla will have even more options by then!

 

[eyespii]

Hi all - Long time lurker here. Wonderful discussions all around.

I have been patiently waiting for home to complete before jumping on the purchase of Tesla. However, now that Supercharger leverage purchases must be made before December 31st, I am in a dilemma. My estimated home close is 1st week of April.

I have an excellent credit history and very comfortable with debt to income ration. Should I make a purchase on December 31st and plan on getting the car before April 1st and hope to close the home without any issues?

Expert advice please!

Even if tesla charges an obscene $.50/kWh (which they likely won't), 1000 miles of supercharging would cost $167. You get 1000 miles free per year, so that's 2000 miles of road tripping for $167/year. If it was me, I wouldn't risk a mortgage over $14/mo.

 

[Snerruc]

The house is much more important than a car- even if it is a Tesla. don't let a car put the house at risk.

 

[brkaus]

Just to agree with others, banks are much more picky with mortgages these days. I wouldn't risk it, it could hurt your mortgage or rate.

 

[Chopr147]

It is really nice knowing I will never have to pay for supercharging with my present S. If only for the convenience but also for the bragging rights
Of course talking to the bank or mortgage consultant just makes sense. Paying even a 1/4 point more on a mortgage rate due to credit score is not worth it. Good luck

 

[timdorr]

I literally am going through this exact same situation (closing on Wednesday!).

Just so you know, the mortgage underwriter will pull your credit once at the beginning of the process and do a refresh near the end (normally about a week before you close). That will inform them if you open any new lines of credit that will affect things like your debt-to-income ratio and credit score. So, don't open up any new accounts while applying for a mortgage.

Now as for the car purchase, you don't pay until you take delivery. So, outside of the $2500 down payment, there won't be anything on your credit report until closer to the delivery date.

Are you planning on getting a loan or paying with cash? If it's cash, then this is all a moot point. If you're getting a loan, it's just a matter of figuring out your debt-to-income ratio (gross income before payroll taxes, and any debts you have, including property taxes and homeowners insurance). If you have a low DTI even with both loans, then you'll be fine. Having an auto loan going into a mortgage application (and vice versa) is totally normal and can be do-able with the right amount of income.

Some other things to watch out for: If you need to get a jumbo mortgage (any loan over $417k), then things get more tricky and they may have more stringent requirements. Those kinds of loans have less protections for the bank, so they are more stringent. That's something you'll deal with regardless of whether or not you get the Tesla.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

Behold the potency of the lifetime supercharging demand lever.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Definitely check with your mortgage officer. They should be happy to tell you if it is an issue or not.

If this is your first home, or if your credit score is close to a threshold where you might drop a tier if you have a new line of credit open, you probably don't want to make a big purchase before you house closes. It would likely cost a lot more than having to pay to supercharge. Just refinancing my existing mortgage (with no increase to the principal) dropped my score from 850 to 830 for a few months.

Because rates were so low we financed a cheap Volvo to beat on instead of buying it outright. My score dropped 25 points immediately, though it's slowly creeping back up. I would not want to be financing a car anywhere near a home purchase.

Behold the potency of the lifetime supercharging demand lever.

The problem is they can only pull that lever once!