Questions I get every week

Affordability is very different from qualification. A lender calculates what you qualify for from your income and the debts on your credit report, and that number is often higher than what you should actually spend. What you can afford depends on your real monthly expenses, your plans, and what you want to keep saving. In the Masterclass we look at both numbers and the gap between them.

Yes. I'm licensed in all 50 states.

A pre-qualification is an estimate based on what you tell the lender. A pre-approval means the lender has reviewed your actual credit, income and asset documentation. Sellers and listing agents can tell the difference, and so can I. My clients go into offers with a real pre-approval, and often with the file already through underwriting.

It depends on how busy the market is keeping the lender, but one to two weeks is typical. If you provide your documentation up front, it goes faster. With me, the application happens after Session 1 of the Masterclass, so we're usually ahead of schedule.

Origination points are a fee a lender or broker charges to originate, process and close your loan. Discount points are an upfront charge that lowers your interest rate. Whether discount points are worth paying depends on how long you'll keep the loan; I'll show you the break-even.

For most loans with less than 20% equity, yes. On a conventional loan you can request removal at 80% of the original value and it cancels automatically at 78%. On FHA loans it usually lasts for the life of the loan. VA loans have no monthly mortgage insurance at all.

Talk to a lender about your situation and have them review your credit report with you. There are programs for a range of credit histories, and there are specific, practical steps that raise scores faster than people expect. The worst move is to assume you can't qualify and not ask.

Add extra to your monthly payment, set up bi-weekly payments, refinance into a shorter term, or win the lottery. Before you do any of them, check that paying down the mortgage is the best use of the money. Sometimes it isn't, and that's a conversation worth having with your financial advisor and me together.

Identify a lender, discuss options and rates, complete an application, lock your rate, provide documentation, go through underwriting, and close. The more important question is whether you should refinance at all, and that depends on your current rate, how long you'll keep the home, and what the closing costs are. I'll run the numbers honestly, including when the answer is no.

Not exactly. It feels that way because of how interest is paid in arrears, but the interest is still accounted for. I wrote a full explanation of what's actually happening in the article on skipped payments.

A mortgage interest rate is the percentage at which a lender is willing to lend you money to purchase or refinance a property. Rates move daily with the bond market, and your individual rate depends on your credit, down payment, loan type and property. That's why I don't publish a rate on this site: a number without your details behind it is meaningless.

Yes, and I'd prefer to. If you have an advisor, I'll keep them in the loop at every decision point so the loan supports the plan they built. See how I work with advisors.