Funding America Mortgage LLC - NMLS# 2192268

Funding America Mortgage LLC - NMLS# 2192268 Funding America Mortgage LLC supports Equal Housing Opportunity
LLC. NMLS #2192268 Licensed In: PA

09/04/2026

Number three is your full tax return with every schedule attached, not just the summary page, and number four is a letter of explanation for anything unusual on the statements.

Those two hold up more files than anything else, and both are avoidable.

The tax return catches people because they forward whatever their accountant emailed them, which is often a two-page summary. Underwriting needs the whole thing. Every schedule, every attachment, signed. A partial return does not get rejected. It gets sent back, and that costs a week.

The letter of explanation catches people because nobody warns them it is coming. Any deposit that is not obviously payroll needs a sentence saying what it was. A gift. A tax refund. Selling a car. Money a friend paid back. None of it is a problem. All of it needs explaining, and explaining it before you are asked is faster.

The other two are simpler. Every page of your bank statements, including the blank ones, because pages are numbered and a missing page looks like a hidden page. And anything showing a deposit you cannot source, which is the same problem as the letter, caught one step earlier.

None of this is about suspicion. Underwriting is assembling a picture that has to hold together, and a gap in the picture stops everything until it is filled. Filling it in advance is the whole trick.

Getting your file ready before you apply is the cheapest speed you will ever buy.

becomefam.com · (267) 608-4800

09/02/2026

Pay it down before your statement closes, not after. The balance on your statement is the one that gets reported, so paying it off the day before you apply can arrive too late to help.

Your card issuer reports the balance once a month, on the statement date. Not on the day you pay. So if the statement closes on the 3rd and you clear the card on the 5th, the lender sees the balance from the 3rd. You did the right thing, two days too late.

People get caught by this all the time. They pay everything off the week they apply, feel organised, and the report still shows a card sitting near its limit. Nothing they did was wrong. The timing was.

It matters because utilisation carries real weight in a score and has no memory. Last month's low balance earns you nothing. Only the most recent reported figure counts. That also makes it one of the few things you can genuinely move in a single cycle.

So: find your statement closing date. It is printed on the statement, and it is not the due date everyone remembers. Get the balance down before it. Then leave the card alone until you close, because small purchases you would not think twice about land on the next statement, and the next statement might be the one that gets pulled.

If you are a few months out, you have room to do this deliberately instead of in a panic. That version works better.

Want to know where your file actually stands? We will look at it with you before anything gets submitted.

08/26/2026

💻 Being self-employed doesn't disqualify you. It changes the paperwork, not the answer.

The reason so many people assume otherwise is that the income question is genuinely different. A W-2 borrower hands over pay stubs. Self-employed borrowers are usually looked at on net income after expenses — which means the write-offs that lower your tax bill also lower the income you can qualify on. That surprises people every single time.

That's not a reason to stop taking legitimate deductions. It's a reason to talk to someone before you file your next return, so you understand the trade-off you're making.

What generally gets looked at:

→ How long you've been self-employed, and whether it's related to what you did before
→ Tax returns, personal and business
→ A profit and loss statement
→ Proof the business exists and is active
→ Business bank statements

There are also programs designed specifically for self-employed borrowers that work differently from the standard route. Whether one fits depends on your situation, and that's a conversation rather than a checklist.

If you've been putting off asking because you assumed the answer was no — ask. Plenty of self-employed people own homes. They just went in prepared.

becomefam.com · (267) 608-4800

08/19/2026

📑 Your lender checks your debt-to-income when you apply. Then they check it again, days before closing.

That second check is the one nobody expects, and it's where car loans do their damage.

Debt-to-income is your monthly obligations measured against your monthly income. When you were approved, that number worked. Add a car payment and it doesn't — same income, more going out every month. Approvals have collapsed this way, days from the closing table, on a purchase the buyer thought was unrelated.

It isn't only cars. Anything that creates a new monthly obligation counts:

→ Financing furniture or appliances for the new place
→ Buy-now-pay-later plans, even small ones
→ Co-signing a loan for someone else
→ A new credit line opened "just in case"
→ Any large purchase put on a card and carried

The furniture one catches people constantly. You're buying a house, so you start furnishing it — and the financing plan that felt like part of the process is the thing that undoes it.

The rule is simple: from application to keys in hand, don't take on new debt. Not for a car, not for a couch, not for anything.

If you genuinely need to buy something big before closing, that's a conversation, not a dealbreaker. Tell your loan officer first. There's almost always a way to time it so it doesn't cost you the house.

Questions about where you stand? We're here to help.

becomefam.com · (267) 608-4800

Looking to create distinct spaces within a room? Utilize furniture strategically to define separate areas. Place a sofa ...
08/16/2026

Looking to create distinct spaces within a room?

Utilize furniture strategically to define separate areas. Place a sofa or a bookshelf as a divider to separate the living area from a workspace or dining space. Position a console table or a bench against a wall to create a hallway or entryway zone.

Use a room divider or tall plants to visually separate different functional areas. By strategically placing furniture, you can effectively break a room into designated spaces, optimizing functionality and visual appeal.

08/14/2026

🍫☕ Craving something sweet without the hassle of baking a whole batch? This quick and delicious brownie mug recipe is the perfect way to satisfy your chocolate cravings in just minutes!

Whether you're enjoying a cozy night in or need a last-minute dessert fix, this single-serving treat is sure to hit the spot. Who would you share this with? 👇

08/13/2026

💳 Closing a credit card doesn't remove debt. It removes available credit — and that's the part your score is watching.

Here's what happens. A big piece of your credit score comes from utilization: how much of your available credit you're actually using. If you're carrying a balance across a few cards and you close one, the balance doesn't go anywhere. Your available credit just got smaller. Same debt, less room, higher utilization — and your score can drop for doing something that felt responsible.

There's a second effect too. Length of credit history matters, and your oldest cards are usually the ones you've stopped using. Those are exactly the ones people close.

What to do instead while you're in the process:

→ Leave the account open, even if you never touch it
→ Pay balances down rather than closing accounts
→ Don't open new cards either — new accounts and hard inquiries move things in the wrong direction
→ If a card has an annual fee you're trying to escape, ask your loan officer before you cancel. Sometimes there's a better move.

The short version: between application and closing, the goal isn't to optimize your credit. It's to keep it still.

Questions about your situation? We're here to help.

becomefam.com · (267) 608-4800

Which would you choose for your dream kitchen: a versatile peninsula or a spacious island?
08/12/2026

Which would you choose for your dream kitchen: a versatile peninsula or a spacious island?

08/11/2026

Here's all six, and the one almost nobody thinks about.

1. Fix your credit profile. Not perfect — just clean. Pay down balances, don't close old cards, don't open new ones.

2. Lower your debt-to-income. Your monthly obligations against your monthly income. Paying down a car loan or a credit line moves this more than most people expect.

3. Gather your documents. Tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, ID. Having them ready is the difference between a smooth process and a stressful one.

4. Keep your employment and income stable. ← This is the one.

People understand that credit and debt matter. Almost nobody realizes employment gets re-verified right before closing. Changing jobs during the process — even for more money — can create a problem. Going from salaried to commission, or from employee to contractor, changes how your income is calculated entirely. Even a promotion can complicate things if the pay structure changes.

If a job change is coming, it isn't automatically a dealbreaker. But it has to be a conversation before it happens, not after.

5. Get pre-approved, not just pre-qualified. They're not the same thing, and sellers know the difference.

6. Then keep everything still. No new debt, no big purchases, no moving money around, until you have the keys.

That's the whole list. Questions about where you are on it? We're here to help.

becomefam.com · (267) 608-4800

In need of some interior design inspiration? Bright, inviting, and airy, I am absolutely loving the style of this home! ...
08/10/2026

In need of some interior design inspiration? Bright, inviting, and airy, I am absolutely loving the style of this home!

Address

18 S State Street
Philadelphia, PA

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 9pm
Tuesday 9am - 9pm
Wednesday 9am - 9pm
Thursday 9am - 9pm
Friday 9am - 9pm
Saturday 9am - 9pm
Sunday 11am - 8pm

Telephone

+12676084800

Website

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