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LOI TRAN · NMLS #454267
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The Non-QM Overview

Your income is real. It just doesn't fit in a standard box.

Self-employed, sitting on real assets, or buying with an investment property's own rent — non-QM financing exists for exactly these situations. Here's how to find the right path for yours.

By Loi Tran, Licensed California Loan Officer, 11 years of mortgage experience, NMLS #454267
Before we start: this overview is educational and general. Program terms, ratios, and figures vary by lender and change over time — verify your specific numbers directly with us.

What "non-QM" actually means

QM stands for Qualified Mortgage — a government rulebook defining standard loan underwriting. Non-QM simply means a loan that qualifies you a different way, using real documentation that isn't a standard tax return, W-2, or pay stub. It's a category, not a red flag. Plenty of non-QM borrowers have excellent credit and substantial real wealth — the loan type solves a documentation mismatch, not a creditworthiness problem.

Worth knowing upfront: if you're planning a purchase 12-18 months out, sometimes a conversation with your CPA about which write-offs to take in the meantime can shift you back toward a standard conventional loan at a better rate entirely. Non-QM is the right tool for a lot of real situations — but it's worth a genuine conversation before assuming it's the only path, not something to assume by default.

Three real paths — find the one that matches where your financial strength actually lives

If your income is real but your tax return understates it

Self-Employed Solutions

Bank statement and P&L programs qualify you off real deposits or CPA-prepared financials instead of tax returns — built for business owners, freelancers, and 1099 contractors whose legitimate write-offs work against them on a standard loan.

See self-employed solutions →
If your wealth lives in savings, investments, or retirement accounts

Asset Depletion Loans

Convert liquid and retirement assets into a qualifying monthly income figure — built for retirees, early-retirees, and high-net-worth borrowers whose real financial picture is on a balance sheet, not a paycheck.

See asset depletion loans →
If you're buying or refinancing an investment property

DSCR Loans

The property qualifies on its own rental income relative to its payment — your personal income never enters the calculation at all. Built for investors, from a first rental to a growing portfolio.

See DSCR loans →

Real loan amounts — genuinely competitive, not just "available"

Up to $5MAsset depletion, through the programs we have access to
Up to $4.5MDSCR, through the programs we have access to

Real self-employed borrowers we've worked with span the full range of California's self-employed economy — technology equity holders, attorneys and other licensed professionals working through an LLC or S-Corp, entertainment industry professionals paid through loan-out corporations, real estate agents, physicians, and small business owners across every sector. If your income doesn't look like a standard W-2, there's a decent chance one of these three paths was built with a situation like yours in mind.

A real scenario — choosing between the three

Maria, a self-employed interior designer with a rental property

Maria's design business shows $70,000 in taxable income after real write-offs, though her actual cash flow supports far more. She also owns a rental duplex and has $300,000 in a brokerage account from a prior home sale.

Three real paths exist for her, not one: a bank statement loan for her own primary residence purchase, using her business deposits instead of her tax return. A DSCR loan if she's buying an additional investment property, qualifying on that property's own rent instead of her personal income. Or asset depletion, using her brokerage account, if she'd rather qualify off her balance sheet than her income at all. Which one actually fits depends on which purchase she's making and where her real strength is strongest for that specific deal — exactly the kind of thing worth a direct conversation about, not a guess.

Buying in Daly City specifically? Our Daly City home loan guide covers the real local numbers — and why self-employed qualification often matters more there than jumbo financing.

Questions

A loan that doesn't fit the government's standard Qualified Mortgage rulebook, because it uses alternative documentation or structures instead of standard tax-return-based underwriting. It's a different, legitimate category of loan, not a red flag or a sign of poor credit.
No. Non-QM programs commonly accept credit scores well below what people assume, though the exact minimum varies by program. Many non-QM borrowers actually have strong credit — the loan type addresses documentation, not creditworthiness.
Non-QM loans commonly carry a modest rate premium over conventional financing, but the comparison isn't always apples to apples — for many borrowers, the alternative isn't a lower conventional rate, it's not qualifying for enough loan at all.
It depends on where your financial strength actually lives: self-employed income that tax returns understate points toward bank statement or P&L programs, substantial liquid or retirement assets point toward asset depletion, and an investment property's own rental income points toward DSCR.

Not sure which path fits? That's exactly what this call is for.

No credit pull, no personal info required to start — see a real estimate, then talk to me directly about which of these three actually fits your situation.

See My Numbers Free Already Ready? Apply Now →

Prefer to talk first? Call or text (415) 610-7999 — you'll reach Loi directly, not a call center.