Erin Hill Mortgage Team

11/02/2026

Several people have asked me about Amendment 3 on our Florida ballot, so I made a short video explaining what it would do to the homestead exemption. I'm not going to tell you how to vote, I promise!

Just wanted to help it make a little more sense.

10/29/2026

Your student loan payment might be $0 right now. Your mortgage application may not see it that way.

When loans are deferred or on an income-driven plan, many loan programs still count a payment when figuring out what you can afford. How that payment is calculated depends on the type of loan, so the same buyer can qualify for a different amount with a conventional loan than with FHA or VA.

Better to know that before you fall in love with a house. It's one of the first things I look at with buyers who have student loans, because the right documentation or the right loan program can change the picture more than you'd expect.

10/23/2026

If you saw a headline this week saying mortgage insurance is about to cancel itself, let's slow down for a second.

The executive order signed October 22 does call for a pilot program where Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would use home value data to spot borrowers who've built enough equity and cancel their mortgage insurance proactively. But it would only apply to loans made after the pilot starts. If you have mortgage insurance today, the current rules for removing it still apply.

Refinances could also get a little cheaper if a program that replaces lender's title insurance with an automated title review goes nationwide.

The USDA and VA rate cuts are the part I expect questions about, so here's the reality. They apply only to two narrow programs where those agencies lend the money themselves. USDA's Section 502 Direct program is for lower-income buyers in eligible rural areas, and it runs on a limited yearly budget, so even eligible buyers can end up waiting a long time for funding, or on a waiting list. VA's direct program is only for Native American veterans buying on federal trust land. For a typical VA purchase, the VA guarantees the loan and a lender makes it.

A lower rate on a loan that can't close on time isn't much help. For a typical purchase, the standard VA and USDA loans through a lender are still the way to go.

Erin Hill | NMLS #2245730 | Responsive Mortgage | NMLS #75243

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose. Every child deserves a safe and nurturing home where they can learn, grow, and reach their full potential. Adoption makes that possible by opening th...

10/22/2026

I have an exciting personal and professional update to share! I've joined Responsive Mortgage, and I'm thrilled to be part of a strong local office with a team I get to work alongside, plus the tools and loan options to keep serving my clients and real estate partners well.

I'm thankful for my time at Novus and the relationships that came with it. This move was about stepping toward the right fit for the next season of my business, and I'm grateful to each person who played a part in opening the door.

I'm eager to continue serving my clients and Realtor partners, now with Responsive Mortgage. My new email is [email protected].

Erin Hill | NMLS #2245730 | Responsive Mortgage | NMLS #75243 |
Equal Housing Opportunity Lender

10/14/2026

You can build a successful business... and still have a hard time qualifying for a mortgage.

I've talked with entrepreneurs and business owners who were genuinely frustrated because the lenders they spoke with couldn't get them approved—even though they had strong, and sometimes stellar, income.

They know they're successful.

They know their business is healthy.

They also know their tax returns were written with one goal in mind... and it wasn't making a mortgage underwriter's life easier. 😄

Helping entrepreneurs, business owners, and buyers with complex or out-of-the-box income scenarios is honestly one of my favorite parts of this job. Every situation is different, and I enjoy finding strategies that fit the way someone actually earns a living.

If you've assumed every lender will look at your financial picture the same way—or you've let someone else's bad mortgage experience convince you yours will be the same—don't let that close the door on other possibilities.

Sometimes a different strategy begins with a different conversation.

10/07/2026

One of the conversations I had this week highlighted something I believe about buying a home.

It's about much more than getting a pre-approval.

I spoke with a gentleman who has been renting the same home for the last eight years. When his landlord decided to sell, his first thought was, "I'd love to buy it myself."

Months earlier, he had received a pre-qualification from a big-box mortgage lender. After that, he spent the next eight months trying to figure everything else out on his own.

By the time we talked, he'd built an entire plan around assumptions.

He thought changing jobs meant waiting two years before buying.
He had nearly ruled out purchasing the home he loves because it has an accessory dwelling unit, and he assumed that meant he couldn't qualify for the homestead exemption.

The home needs repairs, so he'd already accepted that he'd spend the next five or ten years fixing it up little by little because he didn't know renovation financing was an option.

As we talked through each question, those assumptions slowly gave way to possibilities.

The accessory dwelling unit wasn't just another building anymore. It could provide rental income now and one day become a place for his in-laws to live.

The renovations didn't have to stretch over the next decade.
Near the end of the conversation he said,

"I feel like a huge weight has been lifted."

That sentence perfectly captured why these conversations matter.
Sometimes the greatest value a lender can provide isn't simply helping someone qualify for a mortgage.

It's helping them understand their options well enough to move forward with confidence.

10/01/2026

This is pretty much my face when someone tells me...

"Credit Karma says my score is 720." 😳

Then we pull mortgage credit.

Here's the thing...

Credit Karma is great at what it was designed to do: helping you monitor your credit and letting you know when changes have been reported.

What it wasn't designed to do is predict the credit score your mortgage lender is going to use.

That's why I never recommend making homebuying decisions based on the score you see there.

What I do recommend is using it to watch for updates.

Paid off a credit card?

Lowered a balance?

Waiting for a collection to disappear?

Once those changes show up, that's a great time to call your lender. It may be the perfect opportunity to run—or re-run—your mortgage credit.

So yes... keep using Credit Karma.

Just use it for the right reason.

09/24/2026

You may have spent decades building a strong financial position.

But when you're retired and ready to buy a home, you may be surprised by how many of those resources can potentially become part of the mortgage conversation.

You probably already think of your Social Security and pension as income.

But what about your IRA distributions? Dividends and interest? Investments? The financial assets you've spent years accumulating?
I recently closed a loan where the majority of the qualifying income came from irregular IRA distributions.

And another retiree may qualify in a completely different way. In some situations, financial assets themselves can even be used to derive qualifying income.

That's what I enjoy about these conversations.

You spent decades building your financial picture. When it's time to buy a home, I want to understand all of it—not just the income that happens to arrive in your checking account every month.

Your income may look different in retirement.

Your options may too.

09/17/2026

5.0 star review received on Experience.com for Erin Hill by Erin M - beginning to end, Erin was communicative, informative, and thorough! Always a pleasure to work with Erin!

Read more: https://experience.com/reviews/erin-12636952/fb6e719b-c031-4d62-9aea-8f5d4e2e8ce8?V=1789673392&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=autopost&utm_content=13652904