“Money isn’t everything, but it sure makes buying a home easier.”

- Anonymous

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👋 Before you start this section...‍

We turn the real talk up to 11.

Financing is the major hurdle to homeownership, and it’s our jam. Pam led profitable divisions at global financial institutions before many millennials started kindergarten. I spent a decade in finance, focusing on debt capital markets, rates, and financial institutions.

The insights in this section are candid, unfiltered, and based on experience. To be clear, we have generated a lot of revenue for financial institutions but have never taken a dollar from them. These are our convictions, and we share them so you succeed.

Welcome to the second stage in the co-buying process: Get a Joint Mortgage.

Description

It’s unnecessarily complicated to secure joint financing as a co-buyer, but you can beat a broken system by understanding how it operates and preparing accordingly. We’ll teach to the test: success.

Why It’s Important

Most home buyers take out a mortgage to finance their home purchase (80%). Among co-buyers, that number is even higher (96%).

While most folks require a mortgage, surveys show the mortgage process needs to be better understood. One report showed that 24% of all home buyers sign documents they don’t understand. And yet, folks aren’t asking for or getting the help they need. One mortgage professional we’ve worked with for nearly seven years shares, “The average person spends more time picking out features on a new car than they do learning about the financial implications of the largest loan they’ll ever sign.”

This is troubling.

Co-buyers have the added hurdle of dealing with a financial framework not built for co-buying.

As a co-buyer, you will face unique decisions during the mortgage process. The salespeople you’ll deal with are neither qualified nor incentivized to advise you on some of these decisions. To achieve the best possible outcome—the mortgage product of best fit, at the most competitive price, with exceptional execution—you need to understand what and who you’re dealing with.

What You’ll Learn

You’ll cover considerable ground. The focus is on the practical aspects of securing the mortgage of best fit as co-buyers. To get there, you’ll learn about:

• Mortgage basics
• Lenders: their role, how they’re set up, and limitations
• Mortgage application process
• How lenders assess co-buyers
• How to choose the right lender
• Guidance and field notes

There’s a lot of information out there about the traditional home-buying process. We’ll include the basics here, but the perspective is from a co-buying angle.

If you start to feel overwhelmed, don’t. All the action items and resources live at the end of this section with instructions.

Outcomes

By the end of this section, you'll have the knowledge and tools to:

✅ Get ahead of the curve before applying for a mortgage

✅ Identify a lender who fits your needs and goals

✅ Navigate the mortgage application process confidently, efficiently, and effectively