If you’re buying a home in the Seattle area right now, there’s a good chance this thought has crossed your mind: What if I lose my job before we close?
It’s not an irrational fear. Tech layoffs have been real and visible, economic uncertainty is genuinely elevated, and buying a home is one of the largest financial commitments most people make. The last thing anyone wants is to be mid-transaction when bad news arrives.
The good news: there’s a lot more nuance here than most buyers realize — and understanding what lenders actually look for can help you make a more confident decision. [Read more…]
If you’re self-employed and thinking about buying or refinancing a home in Washington State, you’ve probably heard something like: “It’s really hard to get a mortgage when you work for yourself.” That’s partly true — but it’s not the whole story.
When a lender looks at your mortgage application, one of the first numbers they calculate is your debt-to-income ratio — or DTI. It’s one of the most important factors in determining how much home you can afford and whether you’ll qualify for a mortgage in Washington State.
If you work at Amazon, Microsoft, Google, or any of the hundreds of tech and corporate employers in 
