How you earn
W-2 income documents easily. Self-employment, commission, and business income may fit a conventional loan, or may be better served by a bank statement loan.
Financing the place you are trying to buy.
Most purchase loans are straightforward. The ones that are not usually fail for reasons that had nothing to do with the property — a documentation problem nobody caught early, or a program that was wrong from the start.
Matching the loan to the purchase.
A purchase loan is not one product. Conforming, jumbo, government-backed, and asset-based financing all buy the same house, and which one fits depends on the property, how you earn, how much you are putting down, and how you intend to occupy it.
Because we are a broker rather than a single lender, we start with your scenario and look for the program that fits it — instead of starting with one set of products and seeing whether you can be made to fit them.
- First-time and move-up buyers
- Second homes and vacation property
- One-to-four unit investment property
- Self-employed and business-owner income
- Buyers competing on short escrows
Get pre-approved before you shop
A real pre-approval — underwritten, not a rate quote — tells you your actual budget and makes your offer credible to a listing agent. It is the single highest-value thing you can do before touring a property, and it costs nothing.
What decides which program fits.
Four variables drive almost every purchase recommendation we make.
How you will occupy it
Primary residence, second home, and investment each carry different requirements. Occupancy is also the one thing you must never misstate on an application.
The property itself
Condition, unit count, and property type all narrow the field — a condo in litigation or a home needing work rules out lenders a standard single-family would not.
Where purchases actually go wrong.
Rarely the rate. Far more often it is a large unexplained deposit nobody asked about, a job change mid-escrow, new credit opened before closing, or an appraisal that lands short. All of those are manageable if they surface early, which is why we would rather ask uncomfortable questions at the start than discover them a week before closing. If you want to see what the payment looks like first, the payment calculator is a reasonable starting point — and the process page walks through the whole path.
What we will ask you for
What we will ask you for
- Last 2 years of W-2s or 1099s
- Most recent 2 pay stubs, or the equivalent for self-employment
- Last 2 months of statements for every bank and investment account
- 2 years of federal tax returns, all pages and schedules
- Photo ID for every borrower
- The purchase contract, once you are in escrow
Common questions.
How much do I need for a down payment?
It depends entirely on the program and the property. Owner-occupied purchases can start meaningfully lower than most people expect, particularly with FHA financing, and VA loans generally require nothing down for eligible borrowers. Investment property asks for more equity. We will model a few scenarios so you can see the trade-off between cash in and monthly payment.
Is a pre-approval the same as a pre-qualification?
No, and the difference matters when you are competing. A pre-qualification is an estimate based on what you tell us. A pre-approval means your documentation has actually been reviewed. Listing agents know the difference, and in a multiple-offer situation it can be why your offer gets taken seriously.
Can I buy before selling my current home?
Often yes. Depending on your equity and income, either you qualify carrying both payments, or a bridge loan covers the gap until your current home sells. We will look at both and tell you which is cleaner.
What are closing costs, roughly?
Lender fees, title, escrow, appraisal, taxes, and prepaid insurance. On most consumer loans you receive a written Loan Estimate itemizing every dollar shortly after you apply, and we go through it with you line by line. We would rather you understand the number than be surprised by it.
Does applying with multiple lenders hurt my credit?
Multiple mortgage inquiries inside a short window are treated as a single event for scoring purposes, so comparing lenders is safe and sensible. Ask us about soft-pull options if you want to explore before any hard inquiry at all.
Start with a real pre-approval.
Before you tour a single property, find out what you actually qualify for. It takes one conversation and a handful of documents.