That loan officer sitting across the table won't look kindly on the new Z3 you bought or the stack of credit card bills on the kitchen counter. And if you've only managed to put away R5 000 in savings by then, it'll be time to forget about the R300 000 beach house.

To pull the purchase off, try heeding some of the guidelines below that experts suggest. It may not always be fun, but doing so will help get you where you want to be.

Pay your bills and start saving

Always try to pay your bills on time. There is no single element that can so dramatically impact on the success of an application as your credit history. Another thing, of course, is savings.

Everybody comes into the real estate market with a different perspective and level of experience. The fact that online mortgage applications, new loan products and rising interest rates are competing for attention these days makes it all the more difficult to give foolproof advice. But some general rules apply to pretty much anybody when it comes to obtaining the money to buy a home. So here are some of the do's and don'ts that buyers will want to consider.

1. Make loan and other debt payments on time, especially over the months leading up to the submission of your bond application. It sounds simple, but every 30-, 60- or 90-day delinquency on a loan or credit card is going to reduce the credit score the lender ends up considering as part of the loan file. That score, in turn, will determine how good a loan you get — if you get one at all.

2. If you had to prioritise your debts due to a lean patch pay your mortgage loans, credit cards and your instalment loans first.

3. Put down the biggest deposit amount you can afford. This not only makes your application to the bank more attractive but it will save you thousands of interest charges in the future.

4. Get the mortgage first if multiple financial obligations are going to pop up in the near future. Numerous credit inquiries, such as new applications for credit cards, can hurt a borrower's credit score, especially if they're filed in the months prior to the home loan review process.

5. Don't put the savings you are trying to accumulate into something volatile, such as an individual stock. But evaluate money market or other accounts that offer reasonable rates of return, automatic payroll deductions or other financial incentives to save.

Four don'ts

1. Don't make any big purchases over the next couple of months. Besides the obvious fact that it makes less money available for the down payment, it might require you to get yet another loan. A significant debt such as a R100 000 car loan will look bad to the mortgage lender's credit scoring systems. Plus, the human underwriter won't want to see you adding a couple of thousand rands per month to your monthly expenses.

2. As a rule of thumb, you want your total debt obligation to be no more than 36% of your gross monthly income. You certainly don't want to load up on consumer debt if you're anticipating purchasing a home, you're unsure of what your mortgage payment is going to be and if you think you're within the range of exceeding that 36% requirement.

2. Don't try buying that huge house if it's going to be too much of a financial commitment. Lenders consider what's known in the industry as "payment shock" when approving loans. Somebody who goes from a relatively small monthly housing payment to a huge one either won't qualify for a mortgage or will end up having to cover too much loan with too little money. If you've paid all your bills on time, but you've been paying R1 500 in rent with a roommate and now you're going to have a R3 000 payment on a house, how would you handle your monthly payment? You have to make sure you're comfortable about that kind of a debt load.

3. Don't just get pre-qualified for a mortgage, get pre-approved. To get pre-qualified, a borrower needs only submit credit, income and debt information voluntarily to a mortgage broker or lender. That means the resulting estimate of the maximum mortgage and home that's affordable is exactly that — an estimate. Before they can get pre-approved, however, home buyers must allow their lenders to pull credit reports, check debt-to-income ratios and perform other underwriting steps. That puts a borrower much closer to obtaining a loan and locking in a rate and term.

4. Last but not least, don't forget that home ownership brings with it many burdens. The cost of defaulting on a loan is much greater than the penalty of missing a rent payment. Too many black marks on your financial history will affect your lending ability for many years. Make sure you can comfortably afford the payments and maintenance on your new home.