Home Purchase Loans
Whether it's a first place in Costa Mesa or a move up in Newport Beach, the loan you pick shapes your monthly payment, your cash to close, and how strong your offer looks. Here's how I think about it.
What kind of loan do I need to buy a house?
It depends on you, not on the house. A purchase loan is money you borrow to buy a home, secured by the home itself — and there are several types sitting behind that, so the right one depends on your down payment, your credit, how your income is documented, and the price range you're shopping in.
That part — money borrowed against the home you're buying — is simple. What isn't simple is that the right answer sometimes turns on how competitive the offer needs to be, not only on the numbers.
I'm not going to hand you a menu of everything that exists. I'll walk you through the two or three that actually apply to you, with the trade-offs laid out, and then get you pre-approved so you're shopping with real numbers and a letter listing agents take seriously.
I'm a broker, not a bank, so I'm not stuck selling one company's loans. Access to more than 175 lenders means I can take your file to the one that prices and underwrites it best, instead of talking you into whatever's on a single rate sheet.
Who are these purchase loans for?
Buyers at every stage. First-timers who want to know what they can genuinely afford before touring homes, move-up buyers timing one sale against the next purchase, buyers in Orange County price ranges where jumbo takes over, veterans and active-duty service members with an unused VA benefit, and anyone who got a no somewhere else.
- First-time buyers who want to know what they can genuinely afford before they start touring homes
- Move-up buyers timing the sale of one house against the purchase of the next
- Buyers in Orange County's higher price ranges, where conventional loan limits run out and jumbo financing takes over
- Veterans and active-duty service members who have a VA benefit they haven't used
- Anyone who got a no somewhere else and wants a second set of eyes on the file
Which loan programs am I actually choosing between?
Five, mostly: conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, and the first-time buyer and down payment assistance programs. Here's a quick read on each — what it is and who typically uses it. Only two or three will actually apply to you, and the details that matter depend on your file, so treat this as the start of the conversation.
Conventional
The most common loan type, following Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines. Usually the first thing I check for buyers with solid credit — and it's the route where mortgage insurance can come off once you've built enough equity, which isn't true of every program.
Jumbo
For loan amounts above the conforming limit, which comes up constantly in Orange County. Jumbo lenders set their own guidelines, so terms vary a lot from one to the next. This is exactly the situation where shopping the file is worth real money.
FHA
Government-insured, and built for buyers making a smaller down payment or working with a credit history that's still being rebuilt. There's mortgage insurance attached, so it's worth comparing side by side against conventional rather than assuming either one is automatically cheaper.
VA
For eligible veterans, active-duty service members, and some surviving spouses. Typically no down payment required and no monthly mortgage insurance. If you're eligible, it deserves a hard look before anything else.
First-Time Homebuyer Programs
Down payment assistance and first-time buyer programs exist at the state and local level, and they change. Eligibility usually turns on income, price, and location. I'll check what you actually qualify for instead of assuming you don't.
Buying your first home here comes with its own set of questions — what counts as first-time, how much you actually need to bring to closing, and whether down payment assistance reaches Orange County prices. That last one has an honest answer, and it's on that page.
Jumbo comes up constantly at Orange County price points, and it works differently enough to deserve its own page — where the county limit actually sits, the high-balance conforming tier most buyers don't know exists, and what jumbo underwriting really looks at.
What else do buyers ask me about purchase loans?
- How much do I need for a down payment?
- It depends on the loan. Some programs allow very little down, and VA can be zero for eligible borrowers. Others want more. The more useful question is which down payment gets you a payment you're comfortable with — that's a conversation, not a fixed number. Run the affordability calculator for a starting point, then call me and we'll pressure-test it.
- What's the difference between pre-qualified and pre-approved?
- A pre-qualification is a quick conversation and an estimate. A pre-approval means I've reviewed your income, assets, and credit and put my name on the letter. On a competitive Orange County offer, the second one carries weight and the first one mostly doesn't.
- Does getting pre-approved hurt my credit?
- There's a credit pull involved and it can move your score a little. Mortgage inquiries made within a short shopping window are generally treated as a single inquiry by the scoring models, so comparing options doesn't stack up damage the way people worry it will.
- How long does it take to close on a purchase?
- Most purchase transactions run about a month from accepted offer, and clean files can move faster. The delays almost always come from documents arriving late, which is why I front-load the document list instead of asking for things one at a time.
- I'm self-employed. Does that rule me out?
- No. It changes the paperwork, not the possibility. Standard programs lean on tax returns, and if yours don't reflect what you really earn, there are bank statement and asset-based options built for exactly that. Those live under Specialty & Non-QM.
Something not covered here? Ask me directly — or head back to all loan programs.
Let's find out what you can actually buy.
Get pre-approved and you'll be shopping with a real number instead of a guess — and with a letter an agent will take seriously.
- Call or text
- (949) 744-5302
- Office
- 17911 Von Karman Ave, Suite 400
Irvine, CA 92614