Mortgage news and helpful tips

VA IRRRL recoupment, worked: divide your recoupable costs by the monthly payment reduction, and 36 months or fewer clears 38 U.S.C. 3709(a)(2). Includes a full recoupment matrix, the statute's exclusion list, and what happens when a streamline fails the test.

Prequalification is an estimate built from numbers you state. A mortgage preapproval is a documented, credit-checked lender letter — the one Las Vegas listing agents actually weigh. What lenders verify, the typical 60-90 day validity window, the FICO shopping window, the full document checklist, the six-step path to keys, and the mistakes that kill approvals in escrow.

VA loan eligibility, verdict first: most veterans qualify — about 90 days of wartime-era active service, 181 days in peacetime eras, 24 continuous months for Gulf-War-to-present service, or six creditable years in the Guard or Reserve — and the Certificate of Eligibility is the proof, which a lender can usually pull online in minutes. The full service-era table, the three ways to get a COE, entitlement math with a Clark County worked example, restoration, surviving spouses, and discharge questions.

A mortgage rate lock freezes your rate and points for a set lock period while your loan closes. When to lock vs. float, what 30-, 45-, 60-, and 90-day locks cost, how float-down options work, what happens when a lock expires - and the exact monthly cost of floating, in real numbers.

How much house can I afford? Two honest answers: the lender’s ceiling — total debts up to roughly 45–50% of gross monthly income — and your budget’s number, which is usually lower. The full math chain on a $95,000 income, an income-to-price table, the approved-for-more trap, and the 2026 Las Vegas loan limits.

Refinancing wins when you keep the loan past your break-even point: closing costs divided by monthly savings. The framework in real numbers - when a refi wins, when it loses, rate-and-term vs cash-out vs streamline, and the honest math behind the no-closing-cost option.

There is no special "self-employed mortgage" - the programs are the same. What changes is the income math: two years of tax returns, averaged after deductions, with paper write-offs added back. How lenders count it, the write-off trap in real numbers, and the bank-statement alternative.

FHA vs conventional in 2026 usually comes down to credit score. See the side-by-side: 3.5% vs 3% down, flat MIP vs credit-priced cancellable PMI, 580 vs 620 floors, the 2026 Las Vegas loan limits, and a 660-vs-760 worked example priced both ways.

One discount point costs 1% of the loan and permanently lowers your rate. The break-even math that decides whether points pay off, and when a buydown or lender credit wins instead.

Credit, capacity, capital, and collateral — the four Cs lenders weigh on every mortgage. What each means, how they trade off, and how to strengthen your weakest C.