Mortgage questions, answered straight.

Get pre-approved before you look at a single house. It costs nothing, it tells you the real number you can spend rather than a guess, and it makes your offer credible when you find the right place. Shopping first and financing second is how people fall in love with a house they cannot buy.

Pre-qualification is a conversation — you tell me your income and debts and I tell you roughly what works. Pre-approval means I have actually collected documents, pulled credit and had the file reviewed. Sellers take pre-approvals seriously and largely ignore pre-qualifications.

Underwriting will approve you based on your debt-to-income ratio, which most programs cap somewhere in the mid-forties as a percentage of gross income, with flexibility above that in some cases. But the number you are approved for and the number you should spend are different. Look at the payment against your real budget, including the months where the car breaks.

A bank can only offer you the products on its own shelf. As a brokerage we shop your file across 200+ lenders and bring you the best fit. If your file is straightforward that might save you a little; if it is unusual — self-employed, credit repair, an odd property — it can be the difference between approved and declined.

For most borrowers: two years of W-2s, recent pay stubs, two months of bank statements, two years of tax returns if self-employed or commissioned, photo ID, and details of any other property you own. Self-employed files need business returns and often a profit-and-loss statement. I will send you a precise list — no guessing.

Usually yes. Most programs define a first-time buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence in the past three years. People rule themselves out of good assistance programs over this constantly. Ask rather than assume.

No. If you may move within a couple of years, renting often wins, because closing costs and selling costs need time to earn back. Buying makes sense when you will stay long enough to absorb those costs and when the payment fits comfortably. Anyone who tells you renting is always throwing money away is selling something.

Typically 60 to 90 days, because credit reports and income documents go stale. Refreshing it is usually quick — updated pay stubs and bank statements. If your search runs long, tell me before your letter expires rather than the day you need it.

FHA goes down to 580 with 3.5% down, and to 500 with 10% down at some lenders. Conventional generally starts around 620. VA sets no minimum at all, though lenders impose their own. USDA files usually want 640 or better. Higher scores do not just get you approved — they get you priced better.

Often yes, particularly through FHA. What matters is why the credit is damaged and what has happened since. Recent missed payments are a much bigger problem than an old collection with two years of clean history behind it. Bring it to me rather than waiting until you think it looks good enough.

A mortgage credit pull typically costs a handful of points and recovers quickly. Importantly, multiple mortgage inquiries inside a short shopping window count as one event, so you can compare lenders without stacking damage. Shop freely — just do it within a few weeks rather than over six months.

DTI compares your monthly debt payments — including the new mortgage — against your gross monthly income. It is often the true limiting factor rather than credit score or income alone. Paying off a car loan can raise your buying power more than a raise would.

No, but they count. Each program treats deferred or income-driven payments differently, and those differences can move your approved amount materially. If you have significant student debt, the program you choose matters more than usual.

Two years of history is the standard, but it does not have to be the same employer. Moving within the same field, especially for more money, is generally fine. Gaps, career changes and jumping to self-employment need explaining and sometimes need waiting.

It varies by program and by chapter. FHA and VA waiting periods are generally shorter than conventional, and there are exceptions for documented one-off hardships. The clock usually runs from discharge, not filing — which sometimes means you are eligible sooner than you think.

Many programs allow a non-occupant co-borrower, most commonly a parent. Their income helps your ratios, but their debts come along too, and they are fully liable. It is a real commitment, not a formality, and it should be discussed honestly by everyone involved.

Pay revolving balances down below about 30% of their limits — that often moves a score within one cycle. Do not close old accounts, do not open new ones, and dispute genuine errors. Beyond that, time and clean payments do the work. Be wary of anyone charging a fee to promise more.

A thin file is not a dead end. Some programs allow non-traditional credit built from rent, utilities, insurance and phone payment histories. It takes more documentation and more patience, and it works.

No, and this myth costs people years. Conventional loans start at 3% down, FHA at 3.5%, and VA and USDA at nothing at all. Twenty percent avoids mortgage insurance, which is a real benefit — but waiting years to save it while prices and rents rise is often the more expensive choice.

Commonly around 2% to 5% of the purchase price. That covers lender fees, third-party costs like appraisal and title, and prepaid items such as your first year of homeowners insurance and property tax reserves. Your Loan Estimate itemises every line.

Yes, within limits set by your loan program and down payment. It is negotiated in your offer and it is one of the most useful tools available to a buyer who is short on cash. In slower markets sellers agree to this regularly.

Yes. Most programs accept gifts from family, and FHA allows the entire down payment to be gifted. It must be documented with a gift letter and a clear paper trail showing where it came from. What you must not do is take an undocumented cash deposit — that will stall your file.

Entirely real, and Arizona has good programs. Assistance comes as grants, forgivable second liens, or low-rate repayable seconds. Most require a homebuyer education course and income under a limit. Many do not require you to be a first-time buyer. Programs open and close through the year, so a no last year is not a no today.

It is a good-faith deposit held in escrow when your offer is accepted, and it goes toward your costs at closing. You generally get it back if you cancel within your contract's contingency windows — financing, appraisal, inspection. Miss those deadlines and it is genuinely at risk.

Reserves are money left after closing, measured in months of your new payment. Some programs require none, jumbo and investment loans often want several months. Keeping a cushion is wise regardless of whether a lender demands it.

Conventional PMI is priced on your credit and down payment and typically runs a few tenths of a percent to over one percent of the loan per year. You can request removal at 80% loan-to-value and the servicer must cancel it automatically at 78%. That ending is the key difference from FHA.

The buyer, normally, and usually upfront rather than at closing. It is an independent valuation ordered for the lender's protection. If it comes in below the contract price, that becomes a negotiation — and occasionally a reason to walk away.

If your credit supports conventional, it usually wins over time, because the mortgage insurance eventually comes off. FHA is better when your credit or debt ratios do not clear conventional. A common and sensible plan is to buy with FHA and refinance to conventional once credit and equity improve. Our mortgage insurance comparison lays out the difference.

On most FHA loans with less than 10% down, yes — it runs for the life of the loan. With 10% or more down it falls off after 11 years. The way out is refinancing into a conventional loan once you have the equity and credit, which is a completely normal move.

Veterans, active-duty service members, many National Guard and Reserve members, and some surviving spouses, subject to service requirements. You will need a Certificate of Eligibility, which we can usually pull for you in minutes.

It is a one-time fee replacing monthly mortgage insurance, tiered by down payment. On a first use it is 2.15% with less than 5% down, 1.5% at 5–9.99%, and 1.25% at 10% or more. After a first use it rises to 3.3% under 5% down, while the 5% and 10% tiers stay the same. It can be financed into the loan. If you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability, it is waived entirely — always confirm this, it gets missed.

Yes. Entitlement is restored when you sell and pay off the loan, and in some situations you can hold two VA loans at once using remaining entitlement. It is a lifetime benefit, not a single use.

Not at all. It means the property sits in a designated eligible area, which covers a great deal of Arizona outside the Phoenix and Tucson metros — including much of the Gila Valley. Ordinary houses on ordinary streets in Safford, Thatcher and Pima frequently qualify. It is the most under-used loan we see.

They are set by county and household size, and they count the income of everyone in the household — not only the people on the loan. They are more generous than most people expect. Ask before assuming you earn too much.

In 2026, above the conforming baseline of $832,750 for a one-unit property, with a ceiling of $1,249,125 in designated high-cost areas. Above that, underwriting is manual and standards are set by whoever holds the loan.

Not inherently — modern ARMs are fully underwritten and carry caps limiting each adjustment and the lifetime rate. An ARM is a bet on your time horizon. If you will genuinely be gone before it adjusts, the lower start rate is close to free. If you might still be there, read the caps carefully first.

Yes. FHA's 203(k) and conventional renovation loans let you finance the purchase and the work in one loan, based on the home's value after improvement. They involve more paperwork and licensed contractors, and they turn unbuyable houses into good deals.

Conventional and jumbo yes. FHA, VA and USDA are primary-residence programs only. For rentals, conventional investment loans or DSCR loans — which qualify on the property's rent rather than your income — are the usual routes.

Often yes, if it is on a permanent foundation, titled as real property, and meets the program's construction standards. FHA, VA, USDA and conventional all have manufactured housing options. Older units and homes that remain personal property are far harder.

Your credit score, loan-to-value, loan program, loan amount, property type, occupancy, and the term — plus the market on the day you lock. Two people can walk into the same lender on the same morning and be quoted very different numbers, entirely legitimately.

Advertised rates almost always assume a best-case borrower — excellent credit, large down payment, and frequently discount points paid upfront. They are real, for someone. Compare Loan Estimates instead of headlines; that document exists precisely so comparisons are honest.

A lock holds your rate for a set number of days, commonly 30 to 60, protecting you if the market moves against you. Most borrowers lock once they are under contract. Nobody can reliably time the market — including me, and I would not trust anyone who claims otherwise.

It can usually be extended for a fee, or re-locked at current market pricing — whichever is worse for you, typically. This is a good reason to return document requests quickly; most expired locks trace back to a file that sat waiting on the borrower.

Only if you will hold the loan past the break-even. Divide the upfront cost by the monthly saving to get the number of months. If that is 70 months and you expect to move or refinance in four years, points lose. Ask for that break-even in writing.

The interest rate determines your payment. The APR folds certain financing costs into a single annual figure so you can compare offers. A low rate with a high APR is telling you the fees are heavy. Neither number alone is the whole picture — read the Loan Estimate.

Sometimes. Some lenders offer a float-down option, usually with conditions and occasionally a fee. Ask whether one exists before you lock rather than after rates drop.

Thirty days is a normal target for a straightforward purchase, and many close faster. Delays usually come from three places: slow document return, appraisal scheduling, and title issues. The one you control is the first.

Almost certainly not. Conditions are routine — a letter of explanation, an updated statement, a signature. Nearly every approved file has them. What matters is turning them around quickly.

Do not open new credit, finance a car or furniture, change jobs if avoidable, make large unexplained deposits, or move money between accounts without telling us. Underwriting re-checks before funding, and this is where deals genuinely fall apart — usually over something the borrower thought was too small to mention.

You have options: renegotiate the price, cover the gap in cash, split the difference with the seller, dispute the appraisal with genuine comparable sales, or walk away if your contract protects you. It is a setback, not automatically a dead deal.

It is the final statement of your rate, payment and costs, and federal rules require you receive it at least three business days before signing. That window exists so you can compare it against your Loan Estimate without pressure. Use it — question anything that moved.

You sign the loan documents and the closing statement, bring your remaining funds by wire or cashier's check, the loan funds, and the deed records. In Arizona this typically happens at a title or escrow company. Bring photo ID.

Call your escrow officer on a number you already had — never a number from an email — and verbally confirm wire instructions before sending anything. Wire instructions that change at the last minute are the single most common scam in this industry, and recovered funds are rare. Treat every emailed change as fraudulent until you have confirmed it by voice.

No, and you want both. An appraisal establishes value for the lender. An inspection is for you — it tells you what is wrong with the house. Skipping the inspection to win a bidding war is a gamble that goes badly often enough to be worth mentioning.

When the savings clear the costs within a period you will actually stay. The old rule about needing a full point of improvement is too crude — run the break-even. Refinancing also makes sense to drop mortgage insurance, to leave an ARM, or to shorten your term.

Broadly the same categories as a purchase: lender fees, title, appraisal and prepaids. A no-cost refinance is not free — the costs are covered by accepting a slightly higher rate. That can be the right choice, but you should be told plainly that is the trade.

FHA and VA both offer simplified refinances — the FHA Streamline and the VA IRRRL — for lowering your rate on an existing government loan. They typically skip much of the documentation and sometimes the appraisal. They are for rate reduction, not cash out.

On conventional, request cancellation once you reach 80% loan-to-value; the servicer must cancel automatically at 78%. If your home has appreciated, a new appraisal may get you there sooner. On FHA, refinancing to conventional is usually the only exit.

It does if you take another 30-year term, which can quietly cost you more in total interest even at a lower rate. You can refinance into a shorter term, or take the 30 and simply keep paying your old higher amount. Ask to see the total-interest comparison, not just the payment.

A HELOC is a revolving line with a usually-variable rate that you draw from as needed and can re-borrow. A home equity loan is one lump sum at a fixed rate with a fixed payment. Choose the HELOC when the need is ongoing or uncertain, the home equity loan when you know exactly what you need. Full comparison in our Learning Center.

Not the way the videos claim. We modelled it day by day: the daily-interest mechanism is real but small, and at typical market pricing a HELOC is priced above a 30-year fixed, which usually more than cancels it out. The six-year figure comes from a very high savings rate, not from the product. We published every formula and a calculator — see the full breakdown.

It usually turns on your current rate. If you hold a low fixed rate, refinancing everything to reach some equity reprices your whole balance — a second-position HELOC or home equity loan leaves that first mortgage alone. If your existing rate is already at or above market, cash-out often wins.

Yes, and this is the risk people forget. If values fall or your credit deteriorates, a lender can reduce your limit or suspend draws — and it happened on a large scale in 2008 and 2009. Do not treat a HELOC as a guaranteed emergency fund; it is a facility that can be withdrawn.

Only to the extent the money was used to buy, build or substantially improve the home securing the loan, and within the overall acquisition-debt limit. Interest on funds used for a car, a holiday or business capital is treated differently and must be traced. This is genuinely a question for your tax professional, not your lender.

Most lenders will go to somewhere around 80% to 90% of your home's value including your existing mortgage, with some going higher. So on a $400,000 home with a $200,000 mortgage at 85%, roughly $140,000 might be available. Your credit and income still have to support it.

The line closes to new borrowing and the balance converts to an amortising loan, commonly over 20 years. If you had been paying interest only, that payment can jump sharply. Know your draw-period end date well in advance — this catches people out badly.

Because standard underwriting uses your net income after deductions, not your deposits. Good tax management makes you look like you earn far less than you do. It is not personal — the rulebook just reads one number.

A loan that establishes your income from 12 or 24 months of bank deposits instead of tax returns. It exists precisely for self-employed borrowers whose returns understate them. The rate is higher than conventional, and for many business owners it is still clearly the right trade.

An investment-property loan qualified on the property's rent rather than your personal income. If the rent covers the payment, the file works. It lets investors keep buying past the point where debt-to-income would stop a conventional lender.

On DSCR and many investor loans, yes. On conventional, FHA, VA and USDA, no — those close in your personal name. If holding title in an entity matters to you, say so at the start; it changes which programs are even available.

Usually, though there are exceptions where you moved into self-employment in the same line of work you had been employed in. Under two years narrows your options considerably but does not always eliminate them.

Yes, though lenders discount it — commonly using around 75% of gross rent to allow for vacancy and maintenance. Documented history on tax returns counts most; a signed lease on a property you just bought counts for less.

All of Arizona. We are based in Safford and know the Gila Valley — Safford, Thatcher, Pima and the surrounding communities — particularly well, but the licence covers the whole state and we work across it regularly.

A great deal of it does. Eligibility is set by mapped area rather than by how rural a place feels, and ordinary homes in and around Safford, Thatcher and Pima frequently qualify. Given USDA needs no down payment, it is worth checking your exact address before anything else — we can look it up in a minute.

They are collected monthly into your escrow account and paid on your behalf, so they form part of your total payment alongside homeowners insurance. Arizona rates are moderate compared with much of the country, and they vary by county and district. Your estimate will use the actual figures for the property.

Yes, both completed new builds and construction-to-permanent financing. Builders often push their own preferred lender with incentives attached — take the incentive seriously, but get a competing Loan Estimate before assuming it is the better deal.

Homes on acreage are financeable through several programs, though large parcels and outbuildings complicate the appraisal. Raw land alone is a different product with different terms. Bring us the specific parcel and we will tell you honestly what is available.

Nothing. Pre-qualification, running scenarios and answering questions cost you nothing and carry no obligation. You will pay for an appraisal once you are under contract, and lender fees appear at closing — itemised in advance on your Loan Estimate.

No. You work with Gerhard directly from the first conversation through closing. That is the entire point of the business, and it is why the phone number on this site is a real one.

Yes. Sometimes the right advice is to wait six months, clear a debt, or stay in your current loan. We would rather have your trust and your referrals than one commission — and if a strategy you have read about does not hold up, we will show you the math rather than just disagreeing with you.

Look up NMLS #1906123 on NMLS Consumer Access. Gerhard De Beer is licensed in Arizona under DFI License LO-1012185 and originates through Loan Factory, Inc., Company NMLS #320841. You should check this for any lender you speak to, not only us.