Outside the box?
We have a loan
for that.

Yes — completely.

Non-QM loans are fully regulated under both federal lending law and California's own rules, and I originate every one of them under my California license through the DFPI. The "non-qualified" label trips people up, so let me clear it up: it doesn't mean risky or subprime. It simply means the loan doesn't fit the narrow "qualified mortgage" box that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac draw.

Those agency rules were written for W-2 employees with simple tax returns — which describes almost none of the self-employed business owners, freelancers, and entertainment professionals I work with across Los Angeles. Every Non-QM loan still requires the lender to verify your ability to repay; that's the law.

We document your income a different way — bank statements, 1099s, assets, or rental cash flow — but the underwriting is real and the consumer protections are the same ones that apply to any mortgage. You get the same disclosures, the same appraisal, the same closing process. I've helped buyers in Studio City, Pasadena, and Silver Lake close Non-QM loans with full confidence.

If anything about a program ever felt unsafe or off, I'd tell you to walk away — but that's simply not the reality of how these loans work.

Usually a little, yes — and I'd rather be straight with you than pretend otherwise.

Because we're verifying income in a more flexible way, the lender takes on slightly more perceived risk, and that shows up as a rate that's typically a bit above a comparable conventional loan. How much higher depends on your credit, your down payment, the program, and how you document income. A strong borrower with 25% down and great credit may see only a modest difference; a thinner file will see more.

But here's the context that matters for most Los Angeles buyers: a conventional loan often isn't even on the table. If your tax returns show $70k after write-offs but your business actually nets far more, the conventional door is closed regardless of rate. A Non-QM loan at a slightly higher rate is what actually gets you the house in Sherman Oaks or Burbank.

And it doesn't have to be permanent — plenty of my clients buy now on a bank statement loan, then refinance into a conventional loan a couple of years down the road once their documented income lines up. You build equity and appreciation in the meantime instead of waiting on the sidelines. I'll always show you the real numbers so you can decide with eyes open.

Most of my Non-QM loans in Los Angeles close in about 21 to 35 days, which is right in line with a conventional purchase.

The timeline mostly comes down to how clean your documentation is. A bank statement loan where you send me 12 to 24 months of statements promptly tends to move fast. Asset depletion and recent-credit-event programs ask for a bit more review, so they can land on the longer end of that range. The single biggest factor is responsiveness — when you get me documents the day I ask for them, we keep momentum; when items trickle in, the clock stretches.

I set expectations honestly at the start instead of promising a number I can't hit. Before you're ever in contract, I'll tell you what your specific file looks like and give you a realistic close date you can share with your agent and the seller in Glendale, Encino, or wherever you're buying. In a competitive LA market, a credible timeline is part of what makes your offer stick.

I also stay ahead of underwriting conditions so we're not scrambling at the end. If something ever threatens the date, you'll hear it from me early — not the day before closing.

Absolutely.

There's a myth that Non-QM is only for investors or second homes, and it's just not true. The majority of the Non-QM loans I write in Los Angeles are for primary residences — the home someone actually lives in. Bank statement loans, 1099 programs, asset depletion, and credit-event programs all work for owner-occupied purchases.

So if you're a self-employed designer buying your first place in Los Feliz, a producer upgrading to a family home in Studio City, or a restaurant owner finally buying in Silver Lake, Non-QM is very often the path that gets you there. Owner-occupied files sometimes come with their own advantages, too — depending on the program, you may qualify with a lower down payment or stronger terms than you'd get on an investment property.

The key is matching the right program to how you actually earn your money, and that's the part I handle. You tell me how you get paid and what you're trying to buy, and I'll tell you which primary-residence program fits and what it'll take to qualify. Text me your scenario and I'll give you a straight answer about your situation specifically — not a generic one.

Buying the home you live in shouldn't require you to fit someone else's idea of a "normal" borrower.

Yes, and this is one of the most common situations I see.

In Los Angeles, high home prices and non-traditional income tend to show up together — the same entrepreneur or entertainment professional who needs flexible income documentation is often shopping in a price range that's well into jumbo territory. Non-QM programs are built for exactly that overlap. We can go up to $3 million and beyond depending on the program, your credit, and your down payment.

So whether you're buying a hillside home above Los Feliz, a larger property in Encino or Sherman Oaks, or a luxury condo on the Westside near Santa Monica, a jumbo Non-QM loan can get it done when a conventional jumbo lender balks at your tax returns. Jumbo files do get more scrutiny — reserves, appraisal, and documentation all matter more as the loan size climbs — but that's underwriting detail I manage for you, not a wall.

I've structured plenty of high-balance purchases for self-employed buyers and investors whose conventional options were limited purely because of how they document income, not because of their actual financial strength. If you're looking at a higher-priced LA property and worried your income story won't translate, send it my way. There's very likely a program that fits.

Yes — and honestly, I plan for it from day one with a lot of clients.

A Non-QM loan doesn't lock you in forever. It's a tool to get you into the home now, using the income documentation that actually reflects your life today. Once your situation lines up with conventional guidelines — usually after you have about two years of filed tax returns showing stable income, or once a past credit event ages off — we can look at refinancing into a conventional loan, often at a lower rate.

There's no prepayment penalty on most owner-occupied Non-QM programs, so refinancing when the time is right is straightforward. This is a really common arc for the self-employed buyers and entertainment professionals I work with around Los Angeles: buy in Burbank or Pasadena now on a bank statement loan, build equity and let the home appreciate, then refinance a couple of years later once the paper catches up to reality.

You're not penalized for using Non-QM as a bridge — you're using it exactly as intended. I keep your file in mind even after closing, and when rates or your documentation make a refinance worthwhile, I'll reach out. The goal was never just to close one loan; it's to get you into the right long-term position.