You Can’t Control Mortgage Rates… But You Can Control This
March 25, 2026
Mortgage rates are constantly changing, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait. Learn what you can control to buy smarter in today’s market.
For employees, a form W-2 of the last two years and the last four pay stubs; and for self-employed (form 1099), taxes of the last two years and bank statements for the last two months.
The down payment is very low starting at 3% of the value of the house, and in some cases the bank can finance 100% and only needs the closing costs of approximately $6,000. There are also government subsidies for first-time homebuyers, depending on several factors
Yes, you can. If the other house will be the primary residence and you rent the current one, the bank only asks for 5% of down payment plus closing costs
You need to have 20% of the value of the house plus closing costs
The bank always looks at the net income (the income that remains after deductions) of the last two years, and if it’s low it will not be possible, but there are special programs for these cases.
There is a program in which the bank does not look at the taxes, it only looks at the bank deposits of the last 12 months, it’s very easy to qualify, but the down payment is no longer small, it will be 20% of the value of the house plus closing costs and the interest rate is much higher, because the bank does not look at the taxes.
Yes, you can request it from a family member (parents, siblings, children, etc.), from friends or a permanent partner (you don’t have to be married); the two of you would be the owners
It doesn’t affect them, they can buy, but after a year. The important thing is that the payments are made by the main person to prove that they were only a help for the approval.
The higher the better because it directly affects the interest rate. The higher the score, the lower the interest rate. There are two types of loans. For Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, the normal is from 640, but there are banks that make exceptions and start from 580, and for conventional loans from 700.
It does affect you and a lot because it takes away your purchasing power. However, if the income is high, it would not affect much, but if it’s low, that payment would most likely prevent you from being approved to buy the house. Therefore, the advice is to buy the house first and then the car, or before buying the house, refinance the car in order to lower the monthly payment or transfer it to a family member so that it does not appear on the credit.
