Traditional and NON-QM loans

The traditional loan types (conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA) can all be great options for buyers who are self-employed, and typically your qualifying income will be based on your last one or two years of tax returns. As part of the pre-approval process, we will review these returns and calculate your qualifying income to determine your total pre-approval amount. This route works great for most self-employed folks, but sometimes the tax returns don’t tell the whole story, and this is where non-QM (non-qualified mortgages) come into play.

Non-QM programs are loans with unique guidelines quite a bit different than those of traditional mortgages. These loans are typically geared towards self-employed clients whose businesses may write off quite a bit of expenses, but still have strong cash flow. These clients may have a tough time qualifying for a traditional mortgage, but alternative documentation allows us to take a different, more forgiving look at their income.

Some other non-QM loans open doors for foreign nationals to purchase property, or allow us to use assets as income for qualifying.

Minimum credit scores and down payments tend to be a bit higher than traditional mortgage types, and will vary by program.

Non-QM highlights

Bank Statement Loans

  • Instead of using personal or business tax returns to calculate your income, we use the deposits on bank statements over a 12-month period.

ASSET DEPLETION

  • Loans for owner-occupied properties where the borrower may not be currently employed, but has enough assets to purchase the house in cash.

FOREIGN NATIONAL

  • Non-owner occupied, 1-4 unit properties only. No income, job, credit, or reserves required. Long-term and short-term rentals allowed.

Investor cash flow

  • Debt-service coverage ratio loans allow you to qualify based on the current or projected rent of a rental propety. No income or job verification.