Loan programs, explained honestly
Start with the sentence that sounds like you.
Or answer 4 quick questions →- “I’m buying a home — maybe my first.”See the everyday loans →
- “I want to prove income without tax returns.”Prove income your way →
- “I’m buying a rental property.”See the investor loans →
- “I want to reach my equity.”See the equity options →
- “I don’t have a Social or US credit.”See your programs →
- “I had a rough chapter.”See what’s possible →
- “My loan needs a specialist.”See the specialty loans →
01
The everyday home loans
Conventional, FHA, VA and USDA — quoted from the real rulebooks, not a bank’s overlays. Low-down-payment options for first-time buyers live here.
- ConventionalThe one most buyers useFirst-time buyers welcome — with financing up to 97%, the folklore about needing a huge down payment is simply wrong.
- FHAFlexible credit, low down paymentGovernment-backed, financing up to 96.5% — famously forgiving credit, and DPA options that can even cover the down payment.
- VA100% financing, earnedFor veterans, service members and eligible spouses — one of the strongest benefits in lending: full financing, no monthly mortgage insurance.
- USDAHiding behind “rural”100% financing — and the map is far more generous than the word.
- Down payment assistanceThe down payment, financedA second loan behind an FHA first covers the minimum investment — forgivable or repayable, no income limits.
- Hometown HeroesFlorida’s own assistance$10,000 to $35,000 for named occupations and those who serve — a deferred second, repaid when you sell or refinance.
- Manufactured homeAll four agencies finance themOn owned land and titled as real property — two programs reach the full value, and credit goes to 550.
02
Prove income your way
When tax returns don’t tell your story — self-employed or not — five routes, in the order they usually win: deposits, a preparer’s P&L, 1099s, an employer’s letter, or the assets themselves.
- Bank statementYour deposits, not your returnsWrite-offs stop testifying against you.
- P&L onlyYour preparer’s numbers carry itA CPA-prepared statement can qualify the file alone.
- 1099 incomeThe gross countsCommission and contract income, before the write-offs.
- Written VOEYour employer’s word, in writingA verification letter stands in for the paper trail.
- No ratioNo income stated at allReserves, equity and mandatory counseling replace the income calculation — to 80% on a home you live in, from 620.
- Asset utilizationYour balance sheet is incomeRetirees and sellers with the money already made.
03
For property investors
DSCR is the flagship — the property qualifies itself, from a first rental to a nine-unit building. But investors also run full-doc conventional or the alt-doc routes when those price better; the honest answer is whichever wins on paper.
- Short-term rental · DSCRThree nights at a timeAn Airbnb qualifies on a market report or its own statements — to 80% at 1.00 coverage, and a band below it.
- Multi-family · 5–8 unitsPast the fourplexFive-to-eight-unit buildings on three printed grids, and the one documented door to mixed-use and commercial property.
- DSCR · investorThe rent qualifies the loanYour paycheck stays out of the file entirely — Airbnbs and 5–9 unit buildings included.
- Conventional · investmentThe bank-priced rental loanFull-doc investors: 85% purchase financing at a 680 score, up to ten financed properties.
- Alt-doc · investmentDeposits buy buildings tooBank-statement and 1099 routes run investor grids of their own.
04
Reach your equity
A remodel, an unexpected expense, consolidating debt — ways to use what the house has earned, usually without touching the mortgage you have.
- Fixed second mortgageOne fixed sum, one predictable paymentTake the equity, keep your first mortgage exactly as it is.
- HELOCTap equity when you need itA revolving line — draw, repay, draw again — qualified four different ways.
- Cash-out refinanceThe third way to reach equityPull equity — or retire high-cost debt at mortgage pricing. The honest three-way comparison.
- Bridge · buy before you sellTwo houses, one timelineFree the equity in the home you are leaving, so your offer on the next one does not wait for it.
- Reverse · 62+The equity that pays you backFor seniors: no monthly mortgage payment required, while taxes, insurance, upkeep and living in the home stay yours. Counseling comes first.
05
Paperwork that fits who you are
Different documents, same ownership. Worth knowing up front: foreign-national loans cover second homes and investment property — never a primary residence.
06
After a credit event
Bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sale — each starts a clock, the clocks are shorter than the folklore says, and one everyday program is famously forgiving.
07
Specialty loans
Files that need a specialist’s hand — a career-built program, a building banks decline, a loan past their ceiling.
- RenovationFinanced on what it will be worthBuy the house and the repairs in one loan — seven programs, and the differences decide files.
- Medical professionalBuilt for how careers unfoldTraining, contract, then income — read in that order.
- CondotelThe tower with a front deskPrimary, second home or investment — the building is the puzzle, and we know it.
- Non-warrantable condoThey declined the building, not youSpecialty lenders read the project differently.
- JumboPast the banks’ ceilingAbove the conforming limit, with published grids — to five million.
- Reverse · 62+Stay — or buy — without a monthly mortgage paymentPurchase and equity versions for seniors; taxes, insurance, upkeep and living in the home stay yours, and the whole family belongs in the room.
Not sure which one sounds like you?
Fifteen minutes on the phone, or four quick questions online. Either way you leave knowing which programs fit and what each one asks of you.