diff --git a/lib/application.js b/lib/application.js
index 3ceed3686..68bf8e137 100644
--- a/lib/application.js
+++ b/lib/application.js
@@ -471,11 +471,13 @@ app.boot = function(options) {
   forEachKeyedObject(dataSourceConfig, function(key, obj) {
     app.dataSource(key, obj);
   });
+  requireDir(path.join(appRootDir, 'data-sources'));
 
   // instantiate models
   forEachKeyedObject(modelConfig, function(key, obj) {
     app.model(key, obj);
   });
+  requireDir(path.join(appRootDir, 'models'));
 
   // try to attach models to dataSources by type
   try {
@@ -497,7 +499,6 @@ app.boot = function(options) {
   }
 
   // require directories
-  var requiredModels = requireDir(path.join(appRootDir, 'models'));
   var requiredBootScripts = requireDir(path.join(appRootDir, 'boot'));
 }