/PROGRAMS
One desk.
Nearly every loan type.
Buying a rental
The property pays for itself and the loan is underwritten on its rent, not your W-2.
Building or renovating
Flips, ground-up builds and rehab budgets, money going into the property.
Pulling cash out
Equity coming back out, whether the project is finished or the first mortgage is one you want to keep.
Your income doesn’t fit a W-2 box
Self-employed, commission, or asset-rich and income-light. The money is real; the tax return hides it.
Buying a home to live in
Conventional, FHA, VA and USDA on a primary residence you occupy, including programs tied to service.
Conventional, FHA, VA & USDA
Best if you’re buying or refinancing a home you’ll live in, and your income documents normally.
VA loans
Best if you served, and you’ll be living in the property.
First responder / healthcare / educator
Best if you’re in public service and the down payment is the obstacle.
Also available on a home you’ll live in
New construction cash-out
Best if the build is nearly finished and the money or the loan term ran out.
Renovation
Best if the house needs work you can’t pay for in cash and you want one loan, not two.
HELOC / second lien
Best if you want the equity but not at the cost of refinancing a first mortgage you like.
Bank statement / 1099 / P&L
Best if your deposits tell the truth your tax return doesn’t.
Jumbo & asset depletion
Best if the price or the balance sheet outruns a conforming file.
Luxury buyers
Best if your pay is mostly bonus, equity or deferred comp rather than base salary.
Non-warrantable condo
Best if the building failed review, not you.
ITIN
Best if you file US taxes with an ITIN and have payment history to show for it.
The borrower or the building is non-standard
No US credit file, an ITIN, or a condo project that failed warrantability review.
Programs and eligibility vary by scenario and lender guidelines; not all products are available in every state.
COMPARE
Every program, side by side.
Same list, with what each one is and isn’t for. None of these are available in New York.
| Program | Best if | Not for | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buying a rental The property pays for itself and the loan is underwritten on its rent, not your W-2. | |||
| DSCR rental loansread the guide | you want the rent to carry the file, not your tax returns. | a home you’ll live in. | Nearly every state |
| Short-term rentalread the guide | the property will earn by the night and you want that income to count. | a property you’ll live in, even part of it, and a long-term lease is DSCR, not this. | Nearly every state |
| Low-value DSCR / Section 8read the guide | the rental cash-flows but falls under most lenders’ minimums. | a property large enough that standard DSCR lenders will already bid on it. | Nearly every state Also not in WV or MA. |
| Building or renovating Flips, ground-up builds and rehab budgets, money going into the property. | |||
| Fix & flip / bridgeread the guide | the deal has a defined exit and a clock already running on it. | a long-term hold you intend to keep financed as it is. | Nearly every state |
| Renovationread the guide | the house needs work you can’t pay for in cash and you want one loan, not two. | a quick cosmetic flip you plan to sell. That is a bridge loan, not this. | Nearly every state as an investment select states if you live in it |
| Buildersread the guide | you build for a living and the draw schedule is the bottleneck. | a home you’ll live in, including one you’re acting as your own GC on. | Nearly every state |
| Pulling cash out Equity coming back out, whether the project is finished or the first mortgage is one you want to keep. | |||
| New construction cash-outread the guide | the build is nearly finished and the money or the loan term ran out. | a project still at the foundation. That’s ground-up construction. | Nearly every state as an investment select states if you live in it |
| HELOC / second lienread the guide | you want the equity but not at the cost of refinancing a first mortgage you like. | a property with little equity, or a situation where a full refinance is genuinely cheaper. | Nearly every state as an investment select states if you live in it |
| Your income doesn’t fit a W-2 box Self-employed, commission, or asset-rich and income-light. The money is real; the tax return hides it. | |||
| Bank statement / 1099 / P&Lread the guide | your deposits tell the truth your tax return doesn’t. | a W-2 borrower whose returns already show the whole picture. | Nearly every state as an investment select states if you live in it |
| Jumbo & asset depletionread the guide | the price or the balance sheet outruns a conforming file. | a conforming-size loan a standard full-doc file already covers. | Nearly every state as an investment select states if you live in it |
| Luxury buyersread the guide | your pay is mostly bonus, equity or deferred comp rather than base salary. | a straightforward salaried file inside conforming limits. | Nearly every state as an investment select states if you live in it |
| Buying a home to live in Conventional, FHA, VA and USDA on a primary residence you occupy, including programs tied to service. | |||
| Conventional, FHA, VA & USDAread the guide | you’re buying or refinancing a home you’ll live in, and your income documents normally. | a rental you won’t occupy, or income that won’t show on returns. Those have their own paths here. | Select states |
| VA loansread the guide | you served, and you’ll be living in the property. | an investment property you won’t occupy. | Select states |
| First responder / healthcare / educatorread the guide | you’re in public service and the down payment is the obstacle. | an investment purchase, or a property outside my licensed states. | Select states |
| The borrower or the building is non-standard No US credit file, an ITIN, or a condo project that failed warrantability review. | |||
| Foreign nationalread the guide | there’s no US credit file and the property is an investment you won’t occupy. | a home you intend to live in, seasonally or otherwise. | Nearly every state |
| ITINread the guide | you file US taxes with an ITIN and have payment history to show for it. | a file that already has an SSN-based credit score to work with. | Nearly every state as an investment select states if you live in it |
| Non-warrantable condoread the guide | the building failed review, not you. | a condo that already clears agency warrantability. | Nearly every state as an investment select states if you live in it |
Not sure which one you are?
Send the property and the plan. I read it myself and tell you which of these fits, or that none of them do.
Prefer to read first?
There is a plain-language guide behind every program in the table.