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How mortgage decisions actually get made, written by the people who make them. Every guide carries the author’s NMLS identifier, and every figure carries the source it came from and the date it was retrieved.
FHA vs. Conventional: How to Actually Decide
FHA vs conventional comes down to credit score, down payment, and whether mortgage insurance ever comes off. The framework, with the 2026 numbers.
6 min readSeven Steps to Your First Pre-Approval
What a mortgage pre-approval requires, what lenders check, the rate-shopping window that protects your credit, and five things not to do once you start.
Latest from the blog
Buying in Arizona From California: How Occupancy, Property Tax and Your California Home Shape the Loan
Second home, rental or a full move? How you'll use an Arizona house decides how the loan is written, how the county taxes it and what happens to the California home you already own.
Jeff Maas · NMLS #246684
Rate-and-Term Refinance: When It Makes Sense and How to Run the Break-Even
A rate-and-term refinance makes sense when you'll keep the loan past its break-even. Here's how to run that math, what Fannie Mae allows in a limited cash-out refinance, and the reasons to refinance that have little to do with the rate.
Jeff Maas · NMLS #246684
Mortgage Credit Score Requirements by Program: What FHA, VA, USDA and Fannie Mae Set in 2026
There's no single answer to what score you need for a mortgage. Here's how FHA, VA, USDA and conventional programs handled credit scores in 2026, which of your scores counts, and where lender overlays come in.
Jeff Maas · NMLS #246684