Articles on the home-purchase process, first-time homebuyer guidance, market timing, and steps to homeownership.
What you can really afford in 2027: lender DTI caps, rate and down-payment math, state-by-state property tax and insurance, student-loan rules, and the smart max vs lender max gap.
What a home appraisal actually is, how long each loan type takes, what to do if the value comes in low, and the 2026 rules for VA Tidewater, FHA property requirements, and Fannie/Freddie appraisal waivers.
Earnest money deposits in 2026: how much (1-3 percent, higher in Orange County bidding wars), where it goes (escrow neutral trust account, not seller), the three contingencies that protect it, when you lose it, and California Civil Code 1675 3-percent rule. VA and FHA differences covered.
Mortgage lenders use Classic FICO scores (not FICO 8), which means the real rate-shopping window is 14 days, not 45. Here is how to shop three or four lenders without wrecking your file, with the exact scores lenders pull and the 2026 VantageScore 4.0 update.
September JOLTS came in firm at 7.5M openings with quits rising to 3.4M. Normally that pushes mortgage rates up. Instead the 10Y is at 4.91% (down from 5.05% Oct 28 peak) and MND 30-yr is 7.25% today. Here is why, and what to do with it this week.
Mortgage rates have been range-bound since the Oct 28 Fed hold. 10-year Treasury barely moved. MND 30-year conventional sits at 7.33% today. Friday Nov 6 jobs report is the next catalyst.
Three tiers of mortgage approval: pre-qualification (10 min, conversational), pre-approval (24-72 hrs, automated UW), and TBD underwriting (7-14 business days, human underwriter, cash-equivalent offer). Which one you have decides whether sellers take your offer seriously.
The 2-year employment rule is widely misunderstood. Lenders want 2 years of stable income history, not 2 years at the same job. Here are the 6 big exceptions and how each income type is counted.
Buying a house in 2026 requires three cash buckets: down payment, closing costs (2-5%), and post-close reserves (0 months VA/USDA, 0-6 months Conv/FHA, 6-12 months Jumbo).
Mortgage DTI ceilings in 2026: up to 50% Conventional, mid-50s FHA, no cap on VA, 41% USDA. The 43% rule is a disclosure safe harbor, not an approval ceiling.