Mortgage education, made clear
Mortgage Guides for Homebuyers and Homeowners
Get straightforward answers about buying a home, mortgage rates, closing costs, loan programs, refinancing, and home equity. Written by Sean Mertens for California homebuyers and homeowners, with local guidance when location matters.
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Essential Mortgage Guides
Buy Before You Sell: Your Financing Options
Understand ways to purchase your next home without making the offer contingent on selling your current property first.
Read the guide Mortgage ratesMortgage Rate Locks Explained
Learn what a rate lock protects, how lock periods work, and what to consider when deciding whether to lock.
Read the guide HomeownersMortgage Recast: Lowering Your Payment
See how a lump-sum principal payment and recast may lower your payment while preserving your existing loan terms.
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Latest Mortgage Articles
How to Use a 401(k) or IRA to Buy a Home
Learn how a 401(k) loan, IRA first-home withdrawal, or Roth IRA contributions can help fund a home purchase—and what to check before moving retirement money.
Buying a Home in Retirement
Learn how retirement income, account distributions, assets, and monthly housing costs affect buying a home and qualifying for a mortgage in retirement.
Business Owners & Bank Statement Loans
Business owners and the self-employed have more options for mortgages.
Mobile Home Vs Manufactured Home
A California buyer’s guide to mobile and manufactured homes, HUD labels, land ownership, space rent, foundations, appraisals, insurance, and financing.
Buy Before You Sell
Buying before you sell is possible. Take the stress out of moving homes.
Credit Repair Before Buying a Home: Do You Need a Service?
Considering credit repair before buying a home? Learn what paid services can and cannot do, practical steps to improve your credit, and how to get free mortgage-focused credit advice in California.
California Homeowners Insurance - Big Win
Getting homeowners insurance in California sees positive development. Insurance options will expand as battle between regulators and insurers dies down.
Tax Filing and Buying a Home
Learn how self-employed mortgage income is reviewed, what tax filing extensions mean, and which documents to gather before buying a home.
2026 Mortgage Rate Outlook: How the Iran War Affects Rates
How could the Iran war, inflation, and bond markets affect mortgage rates in 2026? Understand what to watch and how to plan a home purchase or refinance.
Do Fed Rate Cuts Lower Mortgage Rates?
The Federal Reserve does not directly set 30-year mortgage rates. A cut can influence the market, but Treasury yields, inflation expectations, mortgage-backed securities, and investor demand matter more to fixed mortgage pricing.
When to Refinance
A practical California homeowner’s guide to refinance break-even calculations, closing costs, cash-out options, mortgage insurance, recasting, HELOCs, and when refinancing may not make sense.
SLO County Employee Down Payment Assistance: Assist-to-Own
Learn how GSFA Assist-to-Own works for SLO County employees, including deferred assistance, possible gifts, repayment, and a comparison with Sean Mertens.
$0 Down Home Purchase: Assistance, Costs & Eligibility
Understand what a $0-down purchase covers, which costs remain, and how to compare assistance and repayment terms with Sean Mertens in SLO County.