After 35+ years in this business, getting that information into my clients' hands is the most valuable thing I can do.
This blog is written for people making real mortgage financing decisions in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sonoma County:
If your situation doesn't fit neatly into a standard underwriting box, you're in the right place. Every post here started as a conversation with an actual client, or with one of the professionals I work alongside, including estate attorneys and CPAs. After 35+ years in lending, the pattern holds: the borrowers who do well are the ones who understood their options before they made an offer, not after.
Six financing routes for borrowers whose write-offs make a standard approval harder than it should be.
What changes when your loan crosses your county's conforming limit, and why some buyers have a choice they never hear about.
What a family member can contribute toward a down payment, and how to document it so underwriting accepts it.
Why the loan you choose up front can quietly close off the tax strategy you were counting on later.
An estate attorney explains why joint tenancy is usually the wrong default, and what to do instead.
Using a 401k down payment to buy a home is possible — but should you? CJ Kerls breaks down loans vs. withdrawals, real tax costs, and when it makes sense. NMLS #243438.
The gift tax exclusion is one of the most misunderstood tools for families helping a child buy a home. Here’s how it works and what limits apply.
Learn about the critical Prop 19 exemptions that allow beneficiaries to maintain lower property tax rates and the one-year deadline for moving into inherited property.
Self-employed and rejected for a conventional mortgage? The problem may not be what you earn. It may be how your income is documented. CJ Kerls explains how bank statement loans can provide another path to qualification. NMLS #243438.
Using home equity to protect your low mortgage rate and put your equity to work in the right places. CJ Kerls breaks down the smart uses of a HELOC or home equity loan, and what to avoid. NMLS #243438.
