Loan Products Hub
The Lab Brief
Choosing a mortgage is a technical decision that impacts your long-term wealth. This directory serves as your guide to the various California mortgage loan products available at The Funding Lab, categorized by their role in your personal financial equation.
Navigating the California housing market requires more than just a pre-approval; it requires a deep understanding of how different loan variables affect your bottom line. At The Funding Lab, we don’t believe in “one-size-fits-all” financing. Instead, we treat homeownership as a formula where your assets, income, and property type are the inputs. Whether you are a first-time buyer, a seasoned investor, or a self-employed professional, our goal is to identify the specific product that maximizes your result.
What are the common mortgage options for California homebuyers?
Standard residential loans are the foundational variables used by most homebuyers to secure primary residences with competitive rates and terms.
How can real estate investors scale their portfolios in California?
For investors, the formula shifts from personal income to the property’s performance. These products allow you to grow your portfolio without the constraints of traditional debt-to-income (DTI) limits.
What loan options are available for self-employed and non-traditional borrowers?
If your tax returns don’t tell your full story, we use alternative variables to engineer your approval.
Mortgage Loan Product Scenarios
|
Loan Product |
Scenario |
|---|---|
|
Conventional |
A W-2 employee with a 740 credit score and 5% down wants the lowest long-term rate for a standard suburban home. |
|
A first-time buyer with a 600 credit score and a 3.5% down payment needs a flexible path to homeownership. |
|
|
A retired veteran wants to buy a home with $0 down and no monthly mortgage insurance. |
|
|
A family is buying a home in a designated rural California town and wants to qualify with no down payment. |
|
|
A buyer in a high-cost area like San Francisco needs a $1.5M loan for a property that exceeds standard conforming limits. |
|
|
A new medical resident with $300k in student loans needs to buy a home before their first day of work with 0% down. |
|
|
A buyer finds a “fixer-upper” and wants to bundle the $75k kitchen remodel costs directly into their purchase mortgage. |
|
Loan Product |
Scenario |
|---|---|
|
DSCR Loans |
An investor wants to buy their 5th rental property without using their personal tax returns, qualifying instead on the property’s rental income. |
|
DSCR HELOC Loans |
A landlord wants to pull $100k of equity out of a rental property to use as a down payment for their next acquisition. |
|
Fix and Flip Loans |
A renovator needs short-term capital to buy and gut a distressed property, qualifying based on the After-Repair Value (ARV). |
|
Investment Hard Money |
A pro-investor at a trustee sale needs to close a deal in 7 days with minimal paperwork. |
|
Commercial Loans |
A business owner is purchasing a 10-unit apartment complex or a mixed-use retail building. |
|
Interest-Only Loans |
A high-net-worth buyer wants to maximize their monthly cash flow by deferring principal payments for the first 10 years. |
|
Bridge Loans |
A homeowner finds their “forever home” and needs to buy it before they have sold their current residence. |
|
Loan Product |
Scenario |
|---|---|
|
Bank Statement Loans |
A self-employed consultant with high tax deductions wants to qualify using their actual bank deposits instead of their net income. |
|
Asset Depletion Loans |
A retiree with a $2M brokerage account but no “job” wants to turn those assets into a qualifying monthly income stream. |
|
Asset Qualifier Loans |
A wealthy individual wants to buy a home based solely on their verified liquid net worth, requiring no debt-to-income analysis. |
|
VOE as Income Loans |
A W-2 employee with complex bonuses needs to qualify using a simple Verification of Employment rather than tax returns. |
|
ITIN Loans |
A non-citizen borrower with a stable income and an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number wants to purchase their first U.S. home. |
|
Foreign National Loans |
An international investor living in London or Tokyo wants to buy a vacation property in Malibu. |
|
Non-Warrantable Condo & Co-op Loans |
A buyer falls in love with a condo unit in a building where the investor concentration or litigation prevents traditional financing. |
Frequently Asked Questions
The FHA loan is the most accessible variable due to its 3.5% down payment. However, the Conventional loan is the “Gold Standard” for those with 20% down or high credit scores. However, these are far from the only options. The Funding Lab specializes in finding the right loan for you and your financial situation. Learn more in our First-Time Homebuyer Guide.
An Interest-Only loan lowers your monthly obligation by allowing you to skip principal payments for an initial period (usually 5–10 years). This maximizes your liquid cash flow during the early years of ownership.
Yes. Both ITIN Loans and Foreign National Loans are engineered specifically for non-citizen borrowers. We use alternative documentation like passports and IRS letters to verify eligibility.
Timing the market is a high-risk variable. When rates begin to stabilize, home prices usually get higher due to increased competition. We often recommend the “Marry the house, date the rate” strategy—secure the property now while you have negotiating power, and engineer a refinance later if rates decline.
Our technical engineering allows most standard residential loans (FHA, VA, Conventional) to close in 21 to 30 days. Specialized products like DSCR or Hard Money can often close faster—sometimes in as little as 7 to 10 days—because they bypass traditional income verification.
In California, you should budget between 1% and 2% of the home’s purchase price for closing costs. This includes variables like title insurance, escrow fees, and appraisal costs. During our initial “Lab Consultation,” we provide a detailed breakdown so there are no unknown variables at the finish line.
Absolutely. Through our Asset Qualifier and Asset Depletion formulas, we can qualify you based solely on your verified liquid assets. We mathematically convert your portfolio into a monthly income stream, allowing you to secure a mortgage without a pay stub or tax return.
Yes. We have specialized formulas for “Non-Warrantable” condos—buildings that may have high investor concentration or pending litigation that scares away traditional banks. We analyze the building’s health as a separate variable to find a path to approval.
23 Comments