All Forum Posts by: Zach Wain

 @Fay Chen - You can absolutely do a conventional cash out refi on a rental home in Texas, living out of state does not impact your eligiblity. Many lenders on these forums are great, but some focus and push "DSCR" loans because that is what they sell. DSCR loans should be the back up plan. Conventional rates will be a better combo of low rates, low fees, and no prepayment penalty.

Look for conventional first! Next, look into DSCR loans. If you have any questions let me know.

Bank statement loans definitely have their time and place. Self employed clients with high revenue but their tax returns do not show enough income. Primary and second homes are great! Rentals too. Sometimes the pricing is better then DSCR, sometimes it is not. But, it is a good product to have in your mix.

@Ying Tang - 100% what Mason said.  A no closing cost refi is the preferred option for most scenarios.  If your closing costs are $0, if rates drop in a year then you refinance again without any worries.

Everyone is different, some people love to save $100/mo and some people do not care about saving $300/mo.

But, there are not many things in life that are deflationary.  Refinancing is one of them!  Dropping your payment is meaningful, especially if the costs are $0.  That is free money.  

I think a no cost refi makes sense at 0.5% drop in rate!

Or, you can keep the payment the same and shorten the loan term a couple of years and pay your mortgage off.  Again, free money, just structured differently.  

@Beruk Lessanework - Like most people said it depends on your credit score. One bonus point for FHA is you can do a FHA streamline down the road without any concern over the home value. No appraisal, no income = easiest refi ever.

Conventional loans can be hard to refi because you may not get the same home possible perks on a refi, or the value may drop and kill your refi opportunity.

@Abigail Joanna - technically, Conventional loans do not allow you to get a last minute personal loan and use it for downpayment.  There are ways around this, like getting the personal loan well in advance so it is seasoned money.  But, a high interest rate on a personal loan does not make much sense.

There are a variety of downpayment assistance options that might be a better fit. Conventional loans require 3% min downpayment and FHA is 3.5%. If you have that much, I would stick with a normal downpayment.

Today's CPI Report: A big win... but rates got worse.

Core CPI came in at 0.1% this morning — well below expectations of 0.3%. Under normal circumstances, this would be a clear green light for markets: cooling inflation = potential rate cuts = optimism. But not today.

Instead of rallying, markets remain jittery as tariff concerns and trade policy fears take center stage. Mortgage rates even ticked up slightly — a counterintuitive move on what should’ve been good inflation news.  This is a clear reminder that in today’s environment, macroeconomic data doesn’t move in a vacuum. Headlines, geopolitics, and policy shifts are increasingly shaping financial sentiment — sometimes more than the data itself.

In the past week, the avg 30 yr fixed rate jumped from 6.6% to 6.97% (per MND).

📊 Key takeaway: Even when inflation cools, the market’s reaction can heat up for different reasons. Keep your eyes on the full picture — not just the numbers.  The markets are uncertain and fearful of the future impact of tariffs and as a result mortgage rates have been volatile, ignoring low inflation numbers, and have seen a steady increase the past 4-5 days.  Hang on, it will likely be a bumpy ride with plenty of ups and downs in the near future

Every scenario is different, but the vast majority of the time I believe it is better to get your own agent that is working for you, 100% on your side.  Not all agents can do a solid job representing 2 opposing parties.

JD - and with higher wages comes increased consumer demand which leads to higher prices/inflation.  This really is an economic pickle.  A severe reduction in gov't spending is the only path I see.  That, or an actual recession that causes people to take money out of equities and into the safe haven of bonds...

All of the mortgage rate forecasts are probably a little dated and the next time they update the projections will go up.  With a GOP sweep, everyone was predicting that would be bad for rates.  If spending cuts are not enough to pay for big tax cuts that will make the deficit worse, and possible tariffs/price increases.

Lets hope Elon and Vivek and have a monumental reduction in Gov't spending.  Lets debt = less Treasury issuance = less supply = lower yields

The market is in an wait and see mode.  But, when 1 party has a clean sweep that means a lot of legislation gets passed, and that spokes the markets.  

100% what Luis said. Self Sufficiency test is the important item for 3-4 unit FHA homes. If you make enough money to qualify without counting any rents, no worries. If you need rents, good luck. It is tough to pass the Self Sufficiency test right now. Conventional is a great option in those scenarios