Nobody explains this process to you before you're expected to be good at it. I'm a Loan Officer with Saxton Mortgage, a UWM Top 1% partner, and I'd rather spend an unpaid twenty minutes making sure you understand what you're signing than close a file you didn't follow.
FHA exists because conventional guidelines don't fit everybody.
FHA is a government-insured program built for buyers whose files don't line up neatly with conventional requirements — shorter credit histories, income that comes from more than one place, or a profile a bank's automated system simply doesn't know what to do with.
It isn't automatically the right answer. Conventional financing is better for some buyers and I'll model both side by side rather than steer you toward whichever is easier for me. The comparison is the part most people never get shown.
See where you stand
About two minutes. No credit pull, no obligation.
Most programs here start at a 500 credit score. Below that, tell us anyway — we'll say honestly whether it's workable and what it would take.
Awards earned by Saxton Mortgage, the lender behind your file.
In roughly the order it tends to come up, and none of it requires you to have decided anything yet.
Before you tour a single house. It takes a short conversation, it costs nothing, and it saves people from falling in love with something that was never going to work.
Underwriter-reviewed, not an auto-generated PDF from an app. Listing agents in Middle Tennessee can tell the difference immediately, and it changes how your offer is read.
They differ on mortgage insurance, credit flexibility and long-term cost. Which one wins depends on your specific file, so I'll show you both rather than tell you one.
THDA raised its purchase price cap in 2026, which brought considerably more Middle Tennessee inventory into range. Plenty of buyers rule themselves out without ever checking whether they qualify.
Allowed under most programs, with rules about documentation and where the money came from. Getting this right early prevents an awkward problem three days before closing.
A thin file isn't the same as a bad one. If you've never carried much credit, there are established ways to document that you pay what you owe.
Banks judge you on tax returns after write-offs. Bank statement and 1099 programs judge you on deposits. If your returns don't reflect what you really earn, say so at the start.
I work with agents across Middle Tennessee and I'm glad to introduce you to two or three who suit what you're looking for. I take no referral fee for it.
Working with a broker doesn't mean working with a small shop. It means you get both.
Saxton Mortgage, LLC holds lending licenses in 38 states from Alaska to Wyoming under NMLS #1717191. That footprint is why the investor access behind your file is what it is.
Saxton is a Top 1% certified partner with United Wholesale Mortgage, the largest wholesale lender in the country — which affects pricing and turn times in ways a small independent shop cannot match.
I submit your file to multiple wholesale investors and bring the options back to you. A bank can only ever offer you the bank.
The institutional weight sits behind the loan. The relationship isn't outsourced — you work with me from the first call through closing, not a rotating queue.
Verify any of this yourself — I'd rather you checked than took my word for it.
As we were shopping around lenders, Mike was recommended by a realtor friend. We spoke to Mike and laid out our concerns and right away he made our worries feel at ease. All we did was ask if he could close on the date provided and he went to work. Mike definitely went above and beyond and he made sure to take care of his veterans. In the near future we would love to work with Mike again and would definitely recommend him to all our homebuyer friends.
Saxton Mortgage, LLC holds a 4.8-star average across 889 client reviews aggregated from Zillow and other sources. That rating reflects the company as a whole, across every loan officer.
Read them at Birdeye, see reviews specific to me on my Saxton profile, or look up NMLS #1666142 at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
On most files the wholesale lender pays my compensation rather than you. On others it comes from loan proceeds at closing. Either way the exact figure appears in writing on your Loan Estimate before you're committed to anything, and I'm glad to walk through it line by line beforehand.
The questionnaire doesn't pull your credit — it uses your own estimate of your score. Nothing touches your credit report until you ask me to proceed and we both agree it's worth doing.
Often yes. Several programs define it as not having owned in the past three years, which surprises people. Worth asking rather than assuming.
That depends on the program, the price and where the funds come from, so it isn't a number I can put on a webpage honestly. Tell me roughly what you have and I'll tell you what it opens up.
No. The questionnaire uses your own estimate. Nothing touches your credit report until you ask me to proceed.
To begin, nothing beyond the questionnaire. To go further: typically recent pay stubs, two months of bank statements, two years of W-2s or tax returns, and photo ID.
No — and anyone who does before reviewing your file is telling you something they aren't permitted to say. What I can commit to is a clear, honest answer quickly, so you can plan around it either way.
So there are no surprises later.
I work remotely with clients across the states I'm licensed in. My office of record is Saxton Mortgage in San Diego — which in practice means you reach me directly rather than whoever happens to be at a branch desk.
I'm licensed in AL, AZ, CA, CT, FL, MD, MI, OR, PA, TN, TX, UT and VA. Kentucky is the notable exception — if your home sits on the Kentucky side of the Fort Campbell line I'll tell you at the outset and refer you to someone licensed there, at no cost.
Below that figure, fixed origination costs take up too much of the benefit for it to be a fair deal for you.
If I'm not the right fit, I'd rather say so on the first call than three weeks in. That has cost me business occasionally. It's still the right way to do this.
About two minutes, no credit pull, and no obligation. You'll get a clear answer either way.
Check Your Eligibility Or call or text me directly at (619) 903-6659