https://www.cjkerls.com/buy-before-you-sell-bay-area/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rsx8h3YnwK0/hqdefault.jpg Buy Before You Sell: Bay Area Bridge Loans and HELOC Options Buying a home before you sell in the Bay Area is a liquidity and timing problem. Here are the bridge loan, HELOC, and margin loan structures that can help solve it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rsx8h3YnwK0 401 2026-09-17T14:41:22-07:00 https://www.cjkerls.com/bay-area-jumbo-high-balance-or-conforming/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MbdL8UXKPCs/hqdefault.jpg Bay Area Jumbo vs. High-Balance vs. Conforming: Which Loan Wins? Crossing a conforming loan limit changes the rulebook, not just the loan size. CJ Kerls compares conforming, high-balance, and jumbo financing for Bay Area buyers, with the 2026 county limits and what each tier requires at closing. https://www.youtube.com/embed/MbdL8UXKPCs 313 2026-09-08T14:00:00-07:00 https://www.cjkerls.com/buying-a-home-unmarried-couple-california/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VzuKSdTwJz8/hqdefault.jpg Buying a Home Together but Not Married? 3 Legal Steps to Protect Yourself Estate attorney Ruby Steinbrecher and CJ Kerls cover 3 legal steps for buying a home as an unmarried couple in California: a written partnership agreement, holding title as tenants in common, and why joint tenancy can backfire. https://www.youtube.com/embed/VzuKSdTwJz8 234 2024-07-31T00:00:00-07:00 https://www.cjkerls.com/self-employed-mortgage-beyond-tax-returns/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A1HJspll_3A/hqdefault.jpg 6 Self-Employed Mortgage Programs Beyond Tax Returns CJ Kerls explains six mortgage programs that help self-employed borrowers and investors qualify without traditional tax return income, including bank statement loans, profit and loss loans, asset depletion, asset-based lending, DSCR, and short-term rental financing. https://www.youtube.com/embed/A1HJspll_3A 418 2026-07-15T09:00:00-07:00 https://www.cjkerls.com/two-unit-property-first-time-home-buyer/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n2eNcKUH6A4/hqdefault.jpg House Hacking With FHA: Buy a Duplex With 3.5% Down CJ Kerls explains house hacking with an FHA loan: how first-time buyers can purchase a two-unit property with 3.5% down, live in one unit, rent the other, and use rental income to help qualify. https://www.youtube.com/embed/n2eNcKUH6A4 264 2026-01-21T00:00:00-08:00 https://www.cjkerls.com/401k-down-payment-home-purchase/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fsETGba0wCk/hqdefault.jpg Should You Use Your 401K As Down Payment When Buying a Home? Using a 401(k) loan for a down payment can be a smart strategy — but the details matter. Take a loan, not a withdrawal. A loan lets you pay yourself back tax-free and penalty-free. An early withdrawal triggers ordinary income tax plus a 10% penalty, which can be a significant hit you don’t need to take. https://www.youtube.com/embed/fsETGba0wCk 2024-05-15 https://www.cjkerls.com/gift-tax-exclusion-for-home-purchases/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qIUSn0xXb9E/hqdefault.jpg Understanding Gift Tax Exclusions: How Parents Can Help Children Buy a Home Estate attorney Ruby Steinbrecher and mortgage lender CJ Kerls explain how the gift tax exclusion works when parents help a child buy a home, including annual limits, the lifetime exemption, and why filing a gift tax return rarely means owing tax. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qIUSn0xXb9E 343 2024-07-24T00:00:00-07:00 https://www.cjkerls.com/prop19-inherited-property-taxes-california/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J-gwegrN2OQ/hqdefault.jpg Unlocking Prop 19: How to Save Big on Inherited Property Taxes in California Estate attorney Ruby Steinbrecher and CJ Kerls explain how Prop 19 inherited property taxes work in California, including the one year residency deadline, the step-up in basis, and what happens when several children inherit the same home. https://www.youtube.com/embed/J-gwegrN2OQ 323 2024-08-12T09:30:54-07:00 https://www.cjkerls.com/self-employed-mortgage-bank-statement-loans/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rTlioaIhZSo/hqdefault.jpg Self-Employed? Turned Down for a Mortgage? Try a Bank Statement Loan CJ Kerls explains how a bank statement loan lets self-employed borrowers in the Bay Area qualify using 12 to 24 months of business or personal bank deposits instead of tax returns, and who the program is built for. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rTlioaIhZSo 365 2026-08-06T14:21:57-07:00 https://www.cjkerls.com/home-equity-loan-the-right-reason/ https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M-sNTNFvbBg/hqdefault.jpg Only Get A Home Equity Loan For This Reason A home equity loan is one of the most powerful financial tools available — but only if you use it correctly. As your Bay Area mortgage lender, I advise my clients to use it exclusively for things that give you a significant ROI: updating a kitchen or bathroom, adding a bedroom, or even using it as a down payment to purchase more real estate. What NOT to do: use a home equity loan to buy a car or any other depreciating asset. That's how people get themselves into trouble. https://www.youtube.com/embed/M-sNTNFvbBg 60 2024-04-30