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Guides
Explainers on the questions that actually come up, written to be useful to you rather than to sell you something. Most of these exist because somebody asked me the same thing four times in one month.
Portland-specific
Paying for an ADU in Portland
Five ways to fund one, the SDC waiver that's worth five figures, and why FHA 203(k) can't build a detached backyard cottage.
Manufactured homes and park rights
Chattel vs. real property, why lenders decline in-park homes, and Oregon's unusually strong park closure and tenant-purchase laws.
Buying your first home in Oregon
Down payment assistance that actually exists, and three widely believed things that aren't true.
Oregon vs. Washington
Live in Vancouver and work in Portland and you owe Oregon income tax. Work remotely and you don't. The whole comparison, honestly.
When the standard answer doesn't fit
ITIN mortgages, and what changed
Buying with an ITIN in 2026, including two federal changes that most published guidance hasn't caught up to yet.
Self-employed and declined
Why your tax returns work against you here, and how deposit-based qualifying reads the very same business differently.
Building without qualifying twice
What a two-close construction loan actually risks, and the 18-month provision that makes single-close work.
Run the numbers
Should you touch your first mortgage?
If you have a 2021 rate, a cash-out refinance reprices your whole balance, and this shows you what that actually costs.
Are points worth it?
Permanent buydown vs. a 2-1 temporary, with the breakeven nobody puts in the pitch.
Should you buy at all?
Counts maintenance, selling costs, and what your down payment would have earned invested. It will sometimes say rent.
Every Friday, in your inbox
The weekly market update explains what actually moved rates that week (treasuries, inflation prints, Fed language), and what all of it means if you're trying to buy a house. 135 of them going back to 2023.