Many people successfully purchase homes while still carrying student debt. What matters most isn't whether you have debt, it's how well you manage it.
The 55 HomeLoan is structured to deliver approvals in as little as five minutes and funding in as few as five days, providing borrowers with a cash-like option for speed and certainty of close.
Programs work by preventing lenders' retail teams from contacting borrowers who are already in a broker's active pipeline, automatically routing these customers back to their original advisers. They also monitor common refinance intent signals such as payoff requests and add the brokerage firm's contact information to borrowers' statements.
Brandon Silvia will oversee all sales and production operations nationwide, with a mandate to scale volume, grow RenoFi's originator network and boost adoption of its artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled renovation lending platform.
Ginsburg stated that treating builder business as a core pillar rather than a side channel reflects a broader industry shift. He believes a healthy balance of builders should be around 15% to 20% of the overall retail book of business.
Lenders use debt-to-income ratio to determine how much a potential borrower can afford to pay on a mortgage. This ratio includes most sources of debt and income, but it doesn't include everyday expenses like utilities or groceries. Generally, having a higher debt-to-income ratio makes it harder to secure financing to buy a house.
In most cases, lenders will not issue a traditional mortgage for land that does not already have a home or building on it. Mortgages are designed for developed properties because houses provide immediate collateral value and are generally easier to sell if a borrower defaults.
Refinance applications increased for the fourth straight week to the strongest pace since 2022, with conventional refinances up 20%. The increase in the average loan size for refinances indicates that more borrowers with larger loan sizes are seeking to lower their monthly payments.
Across most states, it takes 18 to 36 months to raise an average FICO score to the 760 prime threshold, assuming an improvement of about 20 points per year. Mississippi and Louisiana require the longest timelines, with borrowers needing 4 years and 3.5 years of consistent progress, respectively. At the opposite end, Minnesota offers the fastest path, with an average timeline of just 0.9 years, due to a high statewide average score of 742.
Introductory period: The initial fixed-rate phase before adjustments begin. Adjustment period: How frequently the rate can change after the intro period ends. Index: The benchmark interest rate used to calculate future rate changes. Margin: The lender's fixed markup added to the index. Initial cap: Limits how much the rate can increase at the first adjustment. Periodic cap: Limits how much the rate can change at each adjustment. Lifetime cap: The maximum interest rate allowed over the entire loan term.
Housing affordability conditions improved for the seventh consecutive month to close out 2025 because of lower mortgage rates and steady household earnings growth, said Edward Seiler, MBA's associate vice president of housing economics and executive director of the Research Institute for Housing America. MBA expects that moderating home-price appreciation, combined with even lower mortgage rates, will continue to gradually ease affordability constraints and support increased housing market activity.
Nearly 1.3 million mortgages including more than 500,000 originated in 2025 carry rates between 6.875% and 6.99%, the most sensitive group to recent rate declines. ICE cited data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, which found that refinance activity hit a 17-week high in the week ending Jan. 16, with refinances making up 62% of all applications. ICE estimates about two-thirds of these originations were rate-and-term refis.
Permanent vs. temporary buydowns A mortgage buydown can take place over a set period of time or the duration of the loan. Permanent mortgage buydown With this option, you'll buy a lower rate for the entirety of the loan term at closing from your lender through discount points. Unlike a temporary mortgage buydown, the rate will never increase. Temporary mortgage buydown With this arrangement, your mortgage interest rates will be reduced for a period of time before returning to the standard amount.
