The Biggest Mortgage Mistakes Successful Buyers Made This Year (and How to Avoid Them)
Many of the buyers who struggled most with financing this year weren’t inexperienced or unqualified. They were highly successful professionals, business owners, and high-net-worth individuals. In Southern California’s competitive and complex housing market,...
Why Traditional Mortgage Advice Failed So Many Buyers This Year
If you’re a business owner, investor, or high-income professional looking to buy real estate in Southern California, chances are you heard the same advice over and over this year: “You need stronger W-2 income,” or “Wait until your tax returns look better.” For many...
How to Prepare Financially for a Non-QM Luxury Home Purchase in 2026
If you’re planning to purchase a luxury home in Southern California in 2026, early financial preparation can make the difference between a smooth closing and unnecessary stress. For high-net-worth buyers using Non-QM (non-qualified mortgage) financing, preparation...
Non-QM Loans for House Hackers: What Creative Buyers Need to Know
House hacking—living in one unit and renting out the rest—remains one of the fastest ways to buy real estate with reduced carrying costs. If you’re pursuing house hacking in Southern California, you need a financing solution that aligns with your goals. When a...
How High-Net-Worth Buyers Use Non-QM Loans to Keep Cash Invested
For high-net-worth buyers in Southern California, purchasing a luxury home is rarely about whether they can afford it — it’s about how to finance it strategically. Increasingly, affluent buyers are turning to non-QM loans not out of necessity, but as a deliberate...
The Rise of Non-QM Loans: Why More Southern California Buyers Are Choosing Alternative Financing in 2025
For decades, we’ve been finding financing solutions for homebuyers in Southern California, and that means we can identify the trends in the mortgage world. Southern California buyers—from Orange County to San Diego, Los Angeles to the Inland Empire—are...
What is an 80-10-10 Loan?
If you don’t have 20% down but want to avoid paying private mortgage insurance (PMI), an 80-10-10 loan may be the right strategy. Also known as a piggyback or combination loan, it involves three parts: 80% first mortgage 10% second mortgage (home equity loan or HELOC)...
The One Thing I Wish I Knew Before Getting a Mortgage for the First Time
Most first-time buyers focus on one question: “Can I afford the monthly payment?” The one thing I wish every first-time borrower knew is that your mortgage payment is not just principal and interest – and it’s not guaranteed to stay the same forever, even with a...
Are Non-QM Loans Safe? Understanding the Regulations and Protections Before You Apply
A common concern we hear about non-QM loans is that they’re too good to be true, and simply too risky. If you’re considering a non-QM loan, you might be wondering whether they’re similar to the risky, loosely documented loans that contributed to the 2008...
Welcome to my Blog!
Here you’ll find tips, updates on mortgage laws and changes that can affect your loan or approval. Check back often for more great ideas.