Mortgage FAQ
46 questions, answered properly
These are the questions I get asked, written out the way I answer them on the phone. Where the honest answer is "it depends", you will find out what it depends on rather than being told to call.
01 · 6 questions
Getting started
A conversation, then a pre-approval. The conversation takes fifteen minutes and establishes what you are trying to do, what you have to work with and which programs fit. The pre-approval turns that into a documented number you can shop with. Neither costs anything.
Usually within 24 hours of a complete document set — pay stubs, W-2s or returns, and asset statements. The delay is almost never underwriting; it is documents arriving one at a time over a week.
A pre-qualification is an estimate based on what you told someone. A pre-approval means credit was pulled, income and assets were reviewed, and the file was run through automated underwriting. Listing agents in this market can tell the difference immediately, and in a competitive situation only one of the two helps you.
Typically 90 days, limited by the age of your credit report and income documents. Refreshing it is quick, and I re-issue letters at a specific offer price whenever your agent needs one — including on weekends.
Yes, and earlier than most people do. Beyond the letter, the useful part is finding out now whether a credit item, a job change or the way your bonus income is documented will change your number — while there is still time to fix it.
For most salaried buyers: 30 days of pay stubs, two years of W-2s, two months of statements for every account you will draw from, and photo ID. Self-employed buyers add two years of returns and a year-to-date profit and loss. Veterans add a Certificate of Eligibility, which I can usually pull.
02 · 6 questions
Down payment & cash
No, and you never did. Conventional loans start at 3 percent for qualifying first-time buyers and 5 percent otherwise, FHA at 3.5 percent, and VA and USDA can be zero down for eligible buyers and properties. Twenty percent avoids mortgage insurance — it is not a requirement to qualify.
Plan on the down payment plus roughly two to five percent of the price in closing costs and prepaid taxes and insurance. Some of that can be covered by seller concessions or a lender credit, and the calculator will give you a specific figure for your scenario.
Yes. Gift funds are allowed on every major program with a signed gift letter and a documented transfer from the donor’s account to yours. The one rule that trips people up: move it by transfer or cashier’s check, never as cash deposits, so the paper trail exists.
You can, either as a withdrawal or a loan against the balance, and both are acceptable sources with the right documentation. Whether you should is a tax question worth asking your accountant before you commit — and if you take a 401(k) loan, the repayment counts as a monthly debt in your ratios.
The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority both run assistance products, and some employers, municipalities and non-profits do as well. Availability is set by the sponsoring agency and not every lender can originate every product, so ask me which ones we can do before you build a plan around one.
A seller concession is an agreed amount the seller puts toward your closing costs, capped by the loan program. If cash to close is your constraint rather than price, a $10,000 concession usually helps you more than a $10,000 price cut — it changes what you need on closing day instead of shaving a few dollars off the payment.
03 · 7 questions
Credit & qualifying
Conventional programs generally start around 620, FHA around 580 at 3.5 percent down, and VA sets no statutory minimum although lenders apply their own overlays. Score is one input. Debt-to-income ratio is more often the binding constraint.
No. Mortgage inquiries inside a 45-day window are treated as a single event by the scoring models, specifically so that shopping is not penalized. Get Loan Estimates from more than one lender and compare them line for line.
Most programs work comfortably up to a total debt-to-income ratio in the mid-40s, and automated underwriting will stretch further with strong compensating factors like reserves or a large down payment. The more useful exercise is to check which single debt is costing you the most borrowing power — sometimes paying off one car loan moves the number more than a raise would.
Frequently yes, depending on the amount, the age and the program. Medical collections are treated differently from consumer ones, and paying an old collection off is not always the move that helps your score most. Send me the report and I will tell you what actually needs to be addressed.
Typical waiting periods run from two years after a Chapter 7 discharge on FHA and VA to four years on conventional, with foreclosure periods generally longer, and shorter windows exist where documented extenuating circumstances apply. The date that matters is the discharge or transfer date, not the filing date, so get the exact paperwork before assuming you have to wait.
It is a documentation question, not a barrier. Standard programs average two years of net profit with certain add-backs. When aggressive write-offs make returns unrepresentative, a bank-statement program qualifies you on deposits instead.
Yes, and it is a common structure. Leaving one spouse off the loan removes their credit and debts from the equation, but it also removes their income — so it helps in some files and hurts in others. It is worth running both ways before deciding.
04 · 7 questions
Rates & costs
I will not put a rate on a website, because a rate quoted without your credit profile, loan-to-value, program, property type and lock period is marketing rather than information. Call or send your details and you will get a real quote and a Loan Estimate you can compare.
The rate determines your payment. The APR folds certain fees into a single annualized figure so two quotes with different fee structures can be compared. APR assumes you hold the loan for the full term, so it can mislead if you expect to sell or refinance early.
It depends entirely on how long you keep the loan. Divide the cost of the points by the monthly saving to get a break-even in months; if you expect to be there well past that point, it can be worth it. If rates are widely expected to fall, paying to lock a lower one for decades is a weaker bet.
Usually once you are under contract with a known closing date, because a lock has an expiry and extensions cost money. If you are watching a volatile market and the payment at today’s rate already works for you, locking early and stopping the daily anxiety is a legitimate choice.
A pre-approval costs nothing. The first real out-of-pocket expense is the appraisal once you are under contract — typically $550 to $800 in this market — and the due diligence fee if your North Carolina contract includes one.
Most calculators show principal and interest only. A real payment adds property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance where it applies and HOA dues where they exist. In parts of Mecklenburg and Union counties, taxes and insurance alone can add several hundred dollars a month.
On a conventional loan, yes: you can request cancellation at 80 percent loan-to-value and the servicer must terminate it automatically at 78 percent under the Homeowners Protection Act. On an FHA loan taken above 90 percent loan-to-value it lasts the life of the loan, and the way out is a refinance once you have equity.
05 · 7 questions
The process
Twenty-one to thirty-five days is normal, and the contract date is the one I work to. The variables are appraisal scheduling, how fast you return underwriting conditions, and whether title turns up something unexpected.
You shop, your agent writes offers, and I re-issue letters at whatever price the situation calls for. Once a contract is signed, appraisal, title and underwriting all start at once rather than in sequence.
Disclosures go out and get signed, the appraisal is ordered, title work opens, and underwriting reviews the file and returns conditions. You will hear from me at each of those points rather than wondering. The end state is a clear to close, then a Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you sign.
Verifying that you and the property match program guidelines: income calculated correctly, assets sourced, credit explained, appraisal supporting the value, title clean. It ends with an approval carrying conditions. Conditions are normal — the timeline depends on how quickly they clear.
Do not open new credit, do not finance furniture, do not change jobs without telling me first, do not move large sums between accounts without a paper trail, and do not let a card balance spike. Employment and credit are re-verified shortly before closing, and this is the stage where avoidable problems appear.
The lender lends against the lower value, so the gap gets covered by cash, renegotiated with the seller, or challenged with a reconsideration of value if there is genuinely better comparable data. It is not automatically a dead deal, but it is a conversation to have quickly.
In North and South Carolina an attorney generally handles closing, and in-person signing is still the norm. Remote and mail-away closings are possible in some circumstances — tell me early if travel or deployment is a factor and we will plan for it.
06 · 7 questions
Programs & property types
It comes down to your down payment, your credit, whether you have VA eligibility and where the property is. VA beats everything for an eligible veteran. USDA is unbeatable at zero down if the address qualifies. Below 20 percent down with good credit, conventional usually costs less than FHA over time; with thinner credit, FHA is often the only realistic approval.
Yes, and it is a genuine specialty. Permanent foundations, retired titles, private well and septic, and outbuildings on multi-acre parcels are routine west and north of Charlotte, and they need a lender who has done them before.
We do it here. A single-close construction loan covers the land, the build and the permanent mortgage in one closing before ground breaks — interest-only while the house goes up, then automatic conversion to permanent financing at the Certificate of Occupancy. Builders can get approved with us too.
Yes — a renovation loan finances the purchase and the repairs against the after-improved value in one loan. FHA 203(k) handles anything from a $20,000 refresh to structural work; conventional renovation options exist as well. It is the tool for the house nobody else will touch.
Yes. Expect a larger down payment, pricing adjustments and reserve requirements, and expect rental income to be counted at a discount to the lease. Bring the numbers and we will see whether the file works before you write an offer.
I am licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina, which matters constantly given how many Charlotte buyers end up in Fort Mill, Indian Land or Rock Hill. Fairway lends nationwide, so if you are buying somewhere I am not licensed I can hand you to a colleague and stay involved.
Only if the arithmetic works. Compare the total cost of the new loan against the monthly saving to get a break-even, and be honest about whether you will still own the house past it. A cash-out refinance is a different question again — there you are weighing the rate on the whole balance against the cost of the cash.
07 · 6 questions
Working with me
Me, start to finish. I am the person who takes your application, structures the file, tells you when something is a problem and calls you the day it clears. Fairway provides the products, the underwriting under the same roof and the national footprint behind it.
The lender pays me when a loan closes. There is no charge for a pre-approval, no charge for a second opinion on someone else’s Loan Estimate, and no fee for the conversation where I tell you to wait six months because waiting is the right answer.
Yes, while a deal is live — evenings and weekends included. A pre-approval letter re-issued at a new price during a Saturday showing is a normal request, not a favor.
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is the lender: it underwrites, funds and in many cases services the loan. I am the licensed loan officer who originates and manages it. That combination is the point — a local person accountable to you, with a national balance sheet and in-house underwriting behind him.
Mortgage servicing does change hands across the industry; Fairway services a large share of its own loans, which is the reason many borrowers never deal with a stranger about their escrow account. Either way, your first payment notice tells you where to pay, and I will explain it before it arrives.
Gladly, and without a sales pitch attached. Send it over and I will tell you what it actually says — where the fees sit, whether the rate is bought down with points and what it would cost to match. Sometimes the answer is that you already have a good deal.
General information, not individual advice — guidelines, fees and limits vary by program, property and borrower, and change over time. This is not an offer to enter into an agreement or a commitment to lend. Not all applicants will qualify. Information and rates are subject to change without notice. All loans are subject to credit review and approval. Fairway Home Mortgage is a division of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. NMLS Entity ID #2289. https://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/
Still wondering
Ask me the one that is not on this list.
Call or text 704-728-4548. No form, no drip campaign, and no charge for a question — including the ones where the answer is that you should wait six months.