Financing
21 articles on Financing from Mali Gariani: market data, neighborhood detail, and what it actually means for your move.
House Hacking in North Texas: The Cheapest Way Into a Rental
Owner-occupied financing on a small multifamily, or renting rooms in a single-family. What lenders count as income, and where the numbers still work here.
FHA vs Conventional vs VA in North Texas: The Real Trade-offs (2026)
The mortgage insurance rules decide this, not the down payment. FHA MIP at 3.5% down never comes off. Conventional PMI is cancellable by federal law.
Buying Before You Sell in North Texas: Four Ways to Do It
Contingent offers, bridge loans, buy-before-you-sell programs and a leaseback. What each costs, and which one your equity and your timeline actually allow.
Builder Incentives in North Texas: What They Give and What They Take
Almost every incentive is tied to the in-house lender or to standing inventory. How to price the trade honestly, and what is negotiable that nobody asks for.
After the Option Period: The Rest of a Texas Closing, Week by Week
Appraisal, title commitment, survey, loan approval and the final walk-through, in the order they land and with the deadline each one is chained to.
Assumable Mortgages in Texas: Real, Rare, and Slow
FHA and VA loans can transfer with the house at their original rate. What that is worth, what it takes to close one, and the equity problem nobody solves.
Builder Rate Buydowns in North Texas: Read the Whole Offer
A 2-1 buydown, a permanent rate buydown and a price concession are three different things worth three different amounts. How to compare them on one number.
Jumbo Loans in North Texas: Where Conventional Stops (2026)
The 2026 conforming limit is $832,750. Above it the rules change: reserves, appraisals, documentation, and a rate that is sometimes lower than you expect.
The USDA Loan Nobody in DFW Talks About (And Where It Still Works)
Zero down, no conventional mortgage insurance, and eligible ground closer to the metro than most people assume. The catch is the income cap and the map.
FHA Loans in North Texas: The 2026 Limits and the Real Trade-Off
The DFW limit is $563,500 for a single-family home in 2026. What that buys, what the mortgage insurance costs over the life of the loan, and when conventional wins.
The VA Loan in North Texas: What It Does That Nothing Else Does
No down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance, and a funding fee many buyers do not owe at all. Plus the Texas veteran programs that stack on top of it.
PMI in Plain English: What It Costs and How to Get Rid of It
Mortgage insurance is not wasted money and it is not permanent, except on one loan type where it is. How to price it, how to end it, and when to avoid it entirely.
Title Insurance in Texas: The One Policy the State Prices for You
Texas sets the premium by rule, so shopping it is pointless. What to shop instead, what the owner policy covers, and what the endorsements are worth.
Pre-Approval vs Pre-Qualification: Which One Actually Wins an Offer
One is a conversation and one is an underwriting decision. In a competitive North Texas offer only one of them counts, and getting the stronger version is free.
What Credit Score Do You Need to Buy a House in Texas?
The minimum for each loan type, the score that actually changes your payment, and the four moves that lift a thin file fastest before an application.
Down Payment Assistance in Texas: What Is Real and What Has Strings
TDHCA, TSAHC, city programs and the mortgage credit certificate. What each one gives you, what it costs in rate, and the repayment condition buried in some of them.
What Actually Moves Your Mortgage Rate (And What Does Not)
The Fed does not set your rate. Here is what does, which parts you control, and why two lenders quote the same borrower differently on the same morning.
The Appraisal Came In Low. Now What? (North Texas, 2026)
What the lender will and will not lend against, the four ordinary ways out of a gap, and how the appraisal addendum you already signed decides which ones you have.
How to Buy a House in Texas: The Whole Process, Step by Step
Every stage from the first lender call to the funding wire, in the order it happens in Texas, with the deadlines that are easy to blow and expensive to miss.
What Does a Buyer’s Agent Cost in Texas? (2026)
Since August 2024 a buyer signs an agreement naming a number before touring. Who pays it, how it gets negotiated here, and what if the seller offers nothing.
Closing Costs in Texas for Buyers: What You’ll Actually Pay (2026)
Line by line, what a North Texas buyer pays at closing, which fees are negotiable, which the state fixes for you, and the escrow deposit almost nobody budgets for.