Loan guides
Mortgage Loans in California
Every loan type Loi Tran works with, grouped by what you are doing: buying, refinancing or drawing equity, borrowing against a home later in life, and loans shaped by the property or by how you earn. Each guide explains the rules, the costs, the process, and the mistakes to avoid before you apply.
Start here
Not sure which group fits you? Start with the group that matches what you are doing — buying, refinancing, or borrowing later in life — and read the first guide in that group; the job you need the loan to do matters more than the loan's name.
Buying a home
Conventional Loans
The standard loan most California buyers use — how it works, what it costs, and when mortgage insurance applies and ends.
Conventional Loans with a Small Down Payment
The two kinds of low-down-payment conventional paths — income-limited programs and first-time-buyer options — and how to tell which fits.
High-Balance Conforming Loans
For loans above the national baseline but inside a high-cost county's limit — a common band in coastal California.
FHA Loans
Government-insured loans with flexible credit standards, their mortgage insurance costs, and the condo-approval catch.
VA Loans
For eligible veterans, service members, and surviving spouses: entitlement, the funding fee, and using the benefit in high-cost counties.
USDA Loans
Zero-down loans for eligible rural and semi-rural areas, where the household income cap is the filter that decides most files.
Jumbo Loans
Loans above the county conforming limit, where each lender sets its own terms on reserves, leverage, and documentation.
Refinancing and home equity
Refinancing
Rate-and-term refinancing: the break-even arithmetic, the costs, and when a refinance does not pay.
Cash-Out Refinance
Borrowing against equity in one new loan — the loan-to-value caps, the waiting periods, and the pricing difference that matters.
VA Refinances
The IRRRL streamline and VA cash-out refinance, with the seasoning and benefit rules the VA sets for each.
HELOC vs. Home Equity Loan
A line you draw on against a lump-sum second loan — compared on cost, risk, and what each suits.
Reverse mortgages
Reverse Mortgages (HECM)
How a HECM works, what it costs, the counselling step, and the obligations that stay with the borrower.
HECM for Purchase
Buying a home with a reverse mortgage: the down payment, the process, and how the numbers are built.
Property and income situations
Renovation Loans
FHA 203(k) and renovation financing that funds repairs or an addition inside the purchase or refinance.
Second-Home Loans
Occupancy rules and leverage limits for a vacation or part-time home.
Investment-Property Loans
Financing rentals: down payments, rent in qualifying, and how the rules change with unit count.
DSCR Loans
Investor loans qualified on the property's rent rather than personal income — and the disclosure differences that come with business-purpose credit.
Bank-Statement Loans
Qualifying on bank-statement income when tax returns do not show what you earn.
Mortgages for Self-Employed Borrowers
How lenders read self-employment income, and the paths available when the standard reading falls short.
Situations that change the loan
Assumable Mortgages
Taking over a seller's FHA, VA, or USDA loan — the equity gap, the fees, and the entitlement question for VA sellers.
Divorce Mortgage Buyout
Keeping the home after a divorce, and the rule that treats a qualifying buyout as a rate-and-term refinance rather than a cash-out.
ADU Financing
Four ways to pay for an accessory dwelling unit, and how lenders treat rent from a unit that exists — or one not yet built.
Bridge Loans
Buying before you sell: the costs, the exit risk, and the Prop 19 tax-base transfer that can outweigh them.
Loan Limits by County, 2026
Conforming and FHA limits for all 58 California counties, and the tier rule that classifies your loan.
Property Tax and Insurance Costs
What ownership costs after the loan closes: Prop 13, supplemental bills, and insurance in higher fire-risk areas.
A California mortgage question? Talk with Loi directly.
A consultation is a conversation, not an application. Loi will walk through your numbers, say plainly whether the loan fits, and tell you what it would take to qualify — whether or not you move forward. No credit pull to start.
Call Loi — 415-297-6703 Get a consultation Apply with Loi at Loan Factory