Path 01
Get Pre-Qualified.
A quick read on what you might afford. Stated income, light credit pull, no documents verified yet. Useful for setting a target price range before you tour.
Start the conversation →The full file, walked through without marketing language. Whether it's your first home or your fifth, this is how the work moves — from the first phone call to the keys in your hand.
No commitment. Pick the door that fits where you are — light estimate, verified letter, or run-the-numbers tool.
A quick read on what you might afford. Stated income, light credit pull, no documents verified yet. Useful for setting a target price range before you tour.
Start the conversation →The credibility document. Verified income, assets, credit, and employment, reviewed by a real loan officer. The letter listing agents take seriously when you make an offer.
Apply with the studio →Real numbers. Monthly payment, affordability range, refinance math — taxes, insurance, PMI, and escrow built in. No email gate. No lead capture. Just numbers.
Open the calculator →First-time buyers conflate these two. They shouldn't. One is a fast estimate; the other is a credibility document. Knowing which you have — and which you need — changes how listing agents read your offer.
The file moves through six named stages. You'll always know which one you're in and what's required to advance. No mystery boxes, no "we're working on it."
A short conversation. We estimate what the file can afford, based on what you tell us about income, credit, and goals.
Documents reviewed. Income, assets, credit, and employment verified. You receive a pre-approval letter that listing agents respect.
You tour, you choose, you offer. With pre-approval in hand, the offer carries the weight it needs. Your agent and our team coordinate.
Offer accepted. File submitted formally to underwriting. Appraisal ordered. Conditions identified and cleared on a defined timeline.
Rate locked when you choose. Title, insurance, escrow, and closing details coordinated. Clear-to-close issued.
Final paperwork signed. Funds wired by your title company through a number you've independently verified. Keys handed over.
These are the questions that come up on the first call. We've written the answers the way we'd say them on the phone — direct, brief, no caveats designed to sell you something later.
It depends on the program. FHA goes as low as 580 with 3.5% down (500–579 with 10% down, considered case by case). Conventional typically needs 620+. VA has no published minimum, though lenders set their own — most look for 600–620. Jumbo files typically want 700+, with 740+ pricing best.
The score is one piece of the file. We've closed plenty of strong files with mid-600s scores and turned down 780-score files with structural problems. The score is never the whole story.
The minimum is program-dependent: VA and USDA require nothing down. FHA requires 3.5%. Conventional first-time buyer programs (HomeReady, Home Possible) start at 3%. Standard conventional purchases want 5%. Jumbo typically wants 10–20% depending on file strength.
Down payment assistance — like the Chenoa Fund paired with FHA — can cover the 3.5% minimum required investment, meaning qualified buyers may close with little to no out-of-pocket down payment. Subject to CBC Mortgage Agency program guidelines.
Both are mortgage insurance — they protect the lender if you default. The differences matter long-term:
PMI is on conventional loans below 20% down. It's removable: cancels automatically at 78% LTV and can be requested at 80%.
MIP is the FHA version. Two pieces: an upfront fee (1.75%, financed into the loan) plus a monthly charge. On most FHA loans put into place after 2013, monthly MIP stays for the life of the loan — you don't grow out of it the way you do PMI.
For long-term math, that distinction often matters more than the rate quote.
One to four weeks, typically — though faster and slower happen. Speed depends on file complexity, how quickly you respond to condition requests, and whether the property has any title or appraisal issues.
Government loans (FHA, VA, USDA) can take slightly longer because of compliance overlays. Self-employed and Non-QM files need more verification, so plan for the longer end. The fastest closings we run are clean conforming purchases where the borrower returns conditions within hours of being asked.
In order of frequency: missing documents, changes to the file during underwriting (new credit pulls, large unexplained deposits, job changes), appraisal coming in low or with conditions, and title issues on the property.
The honest fix: keep the file static between application and close. No new credit cards, no large purchases, no job moves. Respond to condition requests within hours, not days. And ignore the suggestions to "wait until after closing" — wait until after the wire actually hits the title company.
Yes — with documentation. Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA all permit gift funds from eligible donors (usually family). What's required:
A signed gift letter from the donor stating the funds are a gift and not a loan. Paper-trail evidence of the funds moving from the donor's account to your account — typically copies of both bank statements and the transfer. Some programs cap the percentage of down payment that can come from gifts; others don't.
Sourcing gift money correctly is the single most common spot where first-time buyer files trip. Get the documentation in order before the funds move.
Often, yes. W-2 income typically needs two years of history in the same field. 1099 income typically needs two years averaged — though one year may work if it's a continuation of the same line of work.
For self-employed earners whose tax returns understate cash flow (common when aggressive deductions reduce taxable income), bank-statement or P&L-only programs may serve the file better than conventional documentation. We'll look at the math both ways before recommending a path.
Send a note. We'll answer directly — and if it's a question other buyers should be hearing, it goes into this list.
The guide is useful. A twenty-minute conversation is better. Send a note and we'll match you with a loan officer who'll walk you through the next step — whatever stage you're starting from.