For homebuyers · Central Coast
Buying a home should feel handled, not confusing.
Financing homes across the Central Coast. I shop 150+ lenders for your rate, explain every step in plain English, and answer when you call, first-time buyers especially welcome.
For investors · DSCR & business-purpose
Finance the next door. Qualify on the property, not your paperwork.
DSCR, bank-statement, bridge, and portfolio loans. No tax returns, close in an LLC, and scale across 43 states + DC. Built for operators.
Estimate your payment
$600,000 loan · 6.75% · 30 yr
Estimate only, principal & interest, not a quote.
How much home can I afford?
Based on a 45% debt-to-income ceiling, with room left for taxes and insurance.
Loan $394,000 · 45% DTI · 20% down
Illustrative; car loans, cards, and student debt count toward DTI.
Self-employed? Qualify on deposits
Illustrative. 12–24 mo statements; a CPA letter can raise the count.
For informational purposes only — a tool to explore scenarios, not a quote, pre-approval, or commitment to lend at these or any terms. Actual rates and terms depend on a complete application and credit approval.
Will the deal cash-flow?
Clears the 1.00 minimum. 1.25+ unlocks better pricing.
$2,558/mo payment · $3,000 rent · 25% down
P&I only; taxes/ins excluded. Sub-1.0 programs to 0.75 (1–4 units).
Qualify on deposits
Illustrative. 12–24 mo statements; a CPA letter can raise the count.
Does the flip pencil?
ROI 33% · strongLoan $455,000, the lesser of 90% of purchase + rehab or 70% of ARV.
Cash in $94,100 · 6-mo hold · sell ~$650,000
Illustrative: 90% of purchase + 100% rehab, capped at 70% ARV; ~7% sale costs.
For informational purposes only — a tool to explore scenarios, not a quote, pre-approval, or commitment to lend at these or any terms. Actual rates and terms depend on a complete application and credit approval.
A loan built around how you actually earn.
W-2, self-employed, first-time, or a veteran, the right program is the one that fits your life, and I'll walk you through which one and why.
Clean terms and competitive pricing when your income is documentable.
- Best for
- W-2 earners and steady salaried income that shows up cleanly on tax returns.
- What you'll need
- Pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, and bank statements.
- Worth knowing
- With a smaller down payment, mortgage insurance applies, but it drops off as you build equity, unlike FHA.
A low down payment and flexible credit. The friendliest path into your first home.
- Best for
- First-time buyers, thin or bruised credit, and gift funds from family.
- What you'll need
- Standard income docs, plus a paper trail on any gifted down payment.
- Worth knowing
- FHA mortgage insurance generally stays for the life of the loan, so many buyers refinance to conventional once they have equity.
No monthly PMI, competitive terms, and a benefit you truly earned.
- Best for
- Active duty, veterans, and surviving spouses with VA entitlement.
- What you'll need
- Your Certificate of Eligibility plus standard income and asset docs.
- Worth knowing
- There's no mortgage insurance at all, and the benefit is reusable, so selling and buying again later doesn't burn it.
Self-employed? Qualify on deposits, not tax returns you write off.
- Best for
- Business owners, 1099 contractors, and anyone whose write-offs make their tax return look smaller than their life.
- What you'll need
- 12–24 months of business or personal bank statements. No tax returns, no W-2s.
- Worth knowing
- Rates run above conventional because it's a non-QM program, and that's the trade for qualifying on deposits.
For Santa Barbara & Montecito prices. Competitive high-balance financing.
- Best for
- Purchases above the conforming loan limit, which is most of the Santa Barbara and Montecito market.
- What you'll need
- Fuller documentation than conventional: more reserves, deeper asset history, tighter credit.
- Worth knowing
- Jumbo guidelines vary a lot between lenders, so the right placement matters more here than on any other program.
Tap equity without touching the low first-mortgage rate you locked in.
- Best for
- Owners sitting on a low first-mortgage rate who need cash for a remodel, a down payment, or debt consolidation.
- What you'll need
- Income docs and equity. Your existing first mortgage stays exactly where it is.
- Worth knowing
- The rate is variable and moves with the market, so it's a different animal than your fixed first.
Programs for how you actually operate.
Qualify on the asset, close in the entity, and keep documentation light. Single doors to blanket portfolios, ground-up to stabilized.
Qualify on rent vs. payment. No W-2s, no tax returns, close in an LLC.
- Best for
- Long-term rentals where the property carries itself and you'd rather not hand over personal tax returns.
- What you'll need
- A lease or market rent schedule, credit, and reserves. Personal income never enters the file.
- Worth knowing
- The ratio drives your pricing, not just your approval: the more the rent covers the payment, the better the rate.
Deposit-based qualifying for self-employed operators scaling a portfolio.
- Best for
- Operators whose businesses fund the acquisitions, when the rental math alone won't carry the file.
- What you'll need
- 12–24 months of statements. Deposits stand in for tax returns.
- Worth knowing
- Useful on properties that don't cash flow yet, where a DSCR program would come up short.
Purchase + rehab on ARV, interest-only, draws for the renovation.
- Best for
- Value-add projects you plan to sell, or to renovate and then refinance into longer-term debt.
- What you'll need
- A scope of work and budget, the ARV, and your track record on prior projects.
- Worth knowing
- Rehab money funds in draws as work is inspected, so you carry each stage before you're reimbursed. Budget for that.
Close fast against cash buyers, then refinance into longer-term debt.
- Best for
- Competing with cash offers, auction and probate buys, or covering the gap before another property sells.
- What you'll need
- Equity or a solid down payment and a credible exit. The exit matters more than your income.
- Worth knowing
- Short term and priced accordingly. It's a tool for speed, not a loan to sit in, so line up the takeout first.
No SSN or U.S. credit. Qualify on assets and down payment.
- Best for
- Non-U.S. citizens buying investment property here without a Social Security number or domestic credit file.
- What you'll need
- Passport and visa, verified assets, and typically a reference letter from your home-country bank.
- Worth knowing
- Larger down payment is the trade for skipping U.S. credit. Most of these close in an LLC.
Wrap multiple doors into one loan. Cross-collateralize and free up cash.
- Best for
- Owners with several doors who are tired of separate loans, separate closings, and separate escrows.
- What you'll need
- A rent roll across the portfolio, entity docs, and the operating history.
- Worth knowing
- One loan means one set of costs, but the properties are cross-collateralized, so releasing a single door later takes planning.
Three steps, no mystery.
Deal to funded, without the drag.
Apply online
A secure 10-minute application. Answer what you can, Tony sorts the rest with you.
About 10 minutes
We talk it through
A real conversation about your goal, your options, and the actual numbers. Same day.
Same day
Close and get the keys
Tony finds your best-fit lender, locks your rate, and shepherds the file to closing.
21–30 days
Send the deal
Address, rent, purchase price, and your entity. Skip the tax returns.
5 minutes
Term sheet
Rate, leverage, and DSCR sized to the asset, usually same day.
Same day
Close in your LLC
Fund and move to the next door. Portfolio pricing as you scale.
2–3 weeks
Local across the Central Coast.
Goleta home base, with home loans statewide in California and business-purpose loans in 43 states + DC. Start with the market you're in:
A Goleta local. Four kids, a water-polo family, and a phone that's actually on.
Tony Karam is a mortgage loan originator at Barrett Financial Group, so he doesn't work for one bank with one shelf of products. He shops the wholesale market to fit the rate, terms, and costs to your file.
First-time buyers weighing FHA vs. conventional, self-employed owners who need a bank-statement program, veterans using their benefit, if you've got a scenario, he's seen one like it.
DSCR acquisitions, BRRRR refinances, bridge-to-perm, foreign-national buyers, blanket portfolios, he speaks operator and structures the debt to keep you liquid and scaling.
Ready when you are.
Got a deal? Let's price it.
No need to schedule a thing. Call or text right now and get a real answer about your situation.
(248) 925-0539