Purchase

Two ceilings — the one your lender will give you and the one you'll be comfortable with. Lender ceiling: typically 43–50% of your gross monthly income going to total monthly debt (mortgage + cards + cars + student loans). Comfort ceiling: usually lower, especially with kids, daycare, or saving goals. We run real pre-approval numbers and tell you the lender max — then we have an honest conversation about what monthly payment you'd actually want to live with.

Pre-qualification is a self-reported estimate — useful for window-shopping, worthless for making real offers. Pre-approval is the real thing: we pull your credit, verify your income (paystubs, W-2s, tax returns), verify your assets (bank statements), and run your file through automated underwriting. The pre-approval letter we issue means we'd actually fund the loan — sellers take that seriously. Always get pre-approved before house-hunting, never just pre-qualified.

From 0% (VA, USDA) to 20%+ depending on program. Most first-time buyers land somewhere between 3% and 5% — Conventional 97, HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne all allow 3% down; FHA allows 3.5%; standard conventional allows 5%. We also work with down-payment-assistance (DPA) programs that can layer additional help on top, and gift funds from family are accepted on most programs.

Typically 2–4% of the purchase price — title insurance, recording fees, origination, prepaid taxes and insurance, plus your first year of homeowner's insurance. On a $400K purchase that's roughly $8K–$16K. Sellers can often cover part or all of this as a seller credit (very common — see the seller credits FAQ), or we can structure a "no-cost" loan where a slightly higher rate generates a lender credit that covers your closing costs.

Yes — and it's extremely common. Seller credit caps by program: Conventional 3% (95% LTV), 6% (90% LTV), 9% (75% LTV); FHA 6%; VA 4% of the sales price plus all customary closing costs; USDA 6%. On VA specifically, seller and builder credits can also pay off your personal debts to qualify you (one of the most under-used quirks in VA lending). When we write your offer, we tell you exactly how much seller credit to ask for to cover what you actually need.

Earnest money is a deposit you put up when your offer is accepted to show you're serious — typically 1% of the purchase price (range 0.5–3%). The seller holds it (usually at the title company) until close. At closing, it's credited to your down payment or closing costs. If you back out for a reason allowed by your contract (financing falls through, inspection issues, appraisal problems), you get it back. If you back out for no contract-allowed reason, you usually lose it.

In Texas, the option fee is a small fee paid to the seller in exchange for a defined option period — usually 5–10 days — during which you can back out of the contract for any reason and get your earnest money back. The option fee itself (typically $200–$500) is non-refundable but is usually credited to your closing costs if you proceed. Most other states don't have this exact structure; we'll walk you through whatever applies in yours.

Standard purchase: 30–35 days from contract to close. We've closed clean files in under 20 days; we've also had contested appraisals stretch a deal to 60+. Construction takes 4–8 months for the build plus closing; renovation depends on scope. The big timeline variables are appraisal turnaround in your market, how quickly you get us outstanding docs, and any title cleanup work needed on the property.

Depends on how bad. FHA goes as low as 500 (with 10% down) or 580+ (with 3.5% down). VA has no published minimum credit score — we go on a residual-income basis when scores are below 620 with the right compensating factors. USDA needs 620, but accepts no-score borrowers if at least one borrower has a score. Conventional standard needs 620, with best pricing at 740+. If your credit needs work, we'll tell you exactly what to fix and how long it takes — sometimes it's 30 days, sometimes it's 6 months, but it's almost always fixable.

Plenty. The big ones: Conventional 97 (3% down, no income cap, first-time buyer required), Fannie HomeReady (3% down, income at or below 80% AMI), Freddie Home Possible (3% down, same AMI rules), Freddie HomeOne (3% down, no income cap, first-time buyer required), FHA's standard 3.5% down program, and VA $0 down for eligible Veterans. On top of these we work with state and local DPA (down-payment-assistance) programs in our footprint — gift funds, repayable seconds, and forgivable grants depending on the program.

Fixed-rate locks your rate for the entire loan — most common is 30-year fixed. ARM (Adjustable-Rate Mortgage) gives you a fixed rate for an initial period (typically 5, 7, or 10 years) then adjusts based on a market index. ARMs usually price slightly lower than fixed-rate today, so they can make sense if you're confident you won't keep the loan past the fixed-rate period. Most owner-occupied buyers go fixed; investors and short-term holders often go ARM.

The 30 keeps your monthly payment lower and gives you cash-flow flexibility — extra money can go to retirement, kids, emergency savings. The 15 gives you a lower rate and dramatically less lifetime interest, plus you own the home outright twice as fast. A common middle path: take the 30-year for the lower required payment, then voluntarily pay an extra ~$300–500 a month toward principal. You get most of the equity-building benefit of a 15 with the cash-flow safety of a 30.