Loan programs
Every program has a catch. Here are all of them.
The best loan is not the one with the lowest advertised rate. It is the one whose trade-offs you can live with for the next several years.
Conventional Loans
The default path for buyers with reasonable credit and some savings — and the one where a well-built file saves you the most money.
- Credit scores in the mid-600s and up
- Buyers with 3% or more for a down payment
- Anyone who wants mortgage insurance to eventually fall off
FHA Loans
Government-backed financing built for buyers whose credit or savings are still catching up to their income.
- Credit scores below the conventional cutoff
- Buyers with limited cash for a down payment
- Anyone rebuilding after a rough financial stretch
VA Loans
The strongest loan product in the country, and the one most often left on the table by the people who earned it.
- Active-duty service members and veterans
- Surviving spouses who meet VA eligibility
- National Guard and Reserve members with qualifying service
USDA Rural Development Loans
Zero down payment financing for homes in eligible areas — and "rural" covers far more of Texoma than most buyers expect.
- Buyers in small towns and on the edges of metro areas
- Households within the program's income limits
- Anyone who wants no down payment but has not served in the military
Refinancing
Sometimes the math works. Sometimes it does not. You should get the same honest answer either way.
- Homeowners with equity to put to work
- Anyone carrying FHA mortgage insurance they no longer need
- Borrowers whose credit or income has improved since they bought
First-Time Buyer & Down Payment Assistance
The money to help you buy your first home probably exists. Most buyers never find out because nobody tells them to look.
- Buyers who have not owned a home in the last three years
- Households that can handle a payment but not a down payment
- Anyone who has been told to "come back when you've saved more"
Straight answers
Before you pick one
What credit score do I need to buy a house?
Lower than most people think, and the exact number depends on the loan program. More importantly, the score is only one input — your income stability, your debt load and your down payment all move the answer. If your score is the thing standing between you and a house, there is usually a specific, finite list of things that will fix it.
Do I really need 20% down?
No. That number is one of the most expensive myths in real estate. Conventional loans can start at 3% down, FHA at 3.5%, and VA and USDA loans require nothing down at all for borrowers who qualify. Twenty percent lets you skip mortgage insurance — it has never been a requirement to buy.
I'm self-employed. Is that a problem?
It is a different file, not a worse one. Self-employed income is documented through tax returns and business records rather than pay stubs, and how those returns are read makes an enormous difference to the income a lender will credit you with. Reading them the way an underwriter does is the part I spent years doing.
Not sure which one fits?
That is a fifteen-minute conversation, not a research project. Tell me your situation and I will tell you which programs are genuinely open to you.