by Brian Ziemer | Oct 12, 2026 | Buying a Home
Quick answer: A DSCR loan, or debt service coverage ratio loan, is an investment property loan that qualifies you mainly on the property’s rental income instead of your personal income. Lenders divide the rent by the monthly mortgage costs, and many want a ratio of at...
by Brian Ziemer | Jun 23, 2026 | Buying a Home
Quick answer: VA loans are backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for eligible veterans, active-duty service members, certain National Guard and Reserve members and some surviving spouses. Benefits include no down payment, no PMI, limits on closing costs...
by Brian Ziemer | May 7, 2026 | Buying a Home
Quick answer: A 2/1 buydown temporarily lowers your interest rate by 2 percentage points in year 1 and 1 point in year 2, then the rate returns to the note rate for the rest of the loan. On a $300,000, 30-year loan at 6%, it lowers payments by about $366 a month in...
by Brian Ziemer | Mar 21, 2026 | Buying a Home
Quick answer: To negotiate seller concessions, know your loan’s limit, make a competitive offer, and ask your agent to include the concession in the purchase contract. Limits are 3%, 6% or 9% for conventional loans depending on down payment, 6% for FHA, a 4% cap on...
by Brian Ziemer | Feb 2, 2026 | Buying a Home
Quick answer: Seller concessions (also called seller-paid closing costs) are contributions a seller makes toward a buyer’s closing costs or prepaid expenses. The maximum depends on the loan: conventional 3%, 6% or 9% depending on down payment, FHA 6%, VA 4% on certain...
by Brian Ziemer | Nov 15, 2025 | Buying a Home
Quick answer: The most common mortgage mistakes are changing jobs before closing, taking on new debt, ignoring your credit score, skipping pre-approval, choosing the wrong loan type, waiving the inspection, depositing large unexplained sums and not comparing lenders....
