Credit and Financial Strategy

Your mortgage approval doesn’t start with a rate — it starts with your credit profile and financial structure.

In this section, you’ll find educational articles on:

  • Credit scores and reporting
  • Debt-to-income ratios
  • Mortgage insurance
  • Bankruptcy recovery
  • Financial planning considerations
  • Long-term homeownership strategy

Understanding how lenders evaluate credit and income allows you to prepare strategically rather than reactively.

My goal is to help you improve your financial scenario — whether that means preparing to buy, restructuring debt, or planning your next move.

Questions? Let's talk!

Buying a Home Using Your S.O.’s Income

qualifying for a home mortgage

Recently I helped a couple buy a home in King County. They’re engaged, had been living together for many years and were ready to purchase their first home. One of them, Billy Bellevue, had some credit issues and it made more sense for them to only have Susie Seattle’s on the transaction. [Read more…]

Could you survive one month without income?

 

With the government shutdown pushing over a month long, some federal employees are having to juggle another missed paycheck. Yesterday during an interview with CNBC, US Commerce Secretary Ross is quoted stating:

“So the 30 days of pay that some people will be out – there’s no real reason why they shouldn’t be able to get a loan against it and we’ve seen a number of ads from the financial institutions doing that… there really is not a good excuse why there really should be a liquidity crisis,” he said. “True the people might have to pay a little bit of interest.” [Read more…]

Retirement, random thoughts and your mortgage

Retirement and MortgageI read an interesting article about planning for retirement. This is a topic that I find very important. I’m not a financial planner, however as a Mortgage Professional I see a financial snapshot of what people have when applying for a mortgage. I concur with this article from CNBC, most people do not have enough money saved up for their golden years. [Read more…]

Avoid being naughty to your mortgage preapproval

‘Tis the season to spend, spend, spend give. I love this time of year and I admit that it can be hard for me to not splurge a bit. Overspending doesn’t have to be in the form of extra presents under the tree, it could be getting together with family and friends at a restaurant – or even cooking up something extra special at home. There are endless ways to spend your hard earned cash this time of year whether it’s your savings or using a credit card.

If you’re thinking about buying a home, refinancing or are in the mortgage process, it can be quite easy to forget about your credit or savings during the holidays. [Read more…]

Can you get a Mortgage with Frozen Credit?

In light of Equifax’s recent massive credit breach, many people are going through the process of “freezing” their credit with each of the credit bureaus. This prevents someone from obtaining a new credit account in your name (it does not prevent them from using existing credit). I actually decided to freeze my credit a while back when it appeared that someone was trying to commit fraud with our address. It’s not that difficult to do and it’s pretty easy to forget about…until you decide to apply for new credit, such as getting a mortgage. [Read more…]