Fannie Mae quietly dropped the minimum credit score requirement in November 2025.

Most loan officers missed it.
Here’s what changed: Desktop Underwriter no longer requires a 620 FICO minimum. Lenders can now build a borrower’s credit profile using non-traditional sources, 12 months of rent payments, utility bills, phone bills.

Over 10,500 borrowers have already qualified using rent payment history alone. Fannie Mae estimates 17% of previously ineligible first-time buyers could now be approved.

Think about what that means for your pipeline.

There’s an entire segment of borrowers out there, people with thin credit files, immigrants without US credit history, and yes, the Dave Ramsey crowd who cut up their credit cards, who now qualify.

The LOs who understand non-traditional credit are going to capture deals that everyone else is turning away.

At Arbor, we don’t just track policy changes. We build systems around them.

#nocreditscore #mortgagetips #firsttimehomebuyer #fanniemae #homebuying2026

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Taylor Swift’s real estate portfolio is worth more than most people think.

We asked the office: what’s the current estimated value?
A) $80 Million
B) $150 Million
C) $500 Million

8 properties. 4 states. She owns a full compound in Tribeca, three connected properties on one block worth ~$47 million alone.

A $25M historic estate in Beverly Hills.
A beachfront mansion in Rhode Island with 700 feet of private shoreline.

Plus Nashville where it all started.
She bought her first property at 20. That’s the part nobody talks about.

#taylorswift #taylorswiftrealestate #swifties #realestate #celebrityrealestate

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DSCR was the product of the year in 2025.

If you’re an LO and you don’t know what that stands for, we need to talk.

Debt Service Coverage Ratio.
It’s a loan product where the lender ignores the borrower’s personal income entirely. No tax returns. No W-2s. The only question: does the property’s rental income cover the monthly payment?

Why does this matter?

Because the self-employed population is at historic highs. Freelancers, business owners, 1099 contractors — they all have the same problem. They write off everything. Their accountant loves them. Their mortgage application says they’re broke.

DSCR solves that. And it made up roughly 30% of all Non-QM securitization volume last year.

This isn’t a niche product anymore. Rocket just launched one.

The LOs who understand this product will own the next wave of real estate investors. The ones who don’t will keep losing deals and wondering why.

At Arbor, we stay ahead of the product curve. It’s not optional.

#dscrloan #selfemployed #mortgagehack #investmentproperty #realestateinvesting

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The median age of a first-time homebuyer hit 40 last year.
That number should bother every loan officer reading this.

Because it means an entire generation isn’t buying homes the way we assumed they would. They’re not waiting for marriage. They’re not saving for 20% alone.

They’re doing something smarter.

They’re co-buying. 32% of Gen Z says they’re considering purchasing a home with friends. Not as roommates, as co-owners.

Combining incomes, structuring as Tenants in Common, and building equity together. If you’re an LO and you don’t understand how to structure a co-buy deal?

You’re going to lose an entire generation of borrowers to someone who does. This is the kind of shift we stay ahead of at Arbor.


#cobuying #buyingahome #homebuying2026 #tenantsincommon #realestatetips

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I asked the team a simple question yesterday:
“What’s the most expensive zip code in America?”

Every answer was wrong. 90210. Manhattan. The Hamptons.

The answer? 94027 — Atherton, California. A town of about 7,000 people, 25 minutes from San Francisco. Median home price north of $7 million.

Held the #1 spot for 8 straight years. No one guessed it. And that’s the point.

The best loan officers don’t just know rates. They know markets. They know the details that make borrowers trust them. We build that kind of knowledge into how Arbor operates. If you’re an LO who wants to be sharper than the person across the table — that’s what we’re building here.

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How much is George Clooney’s Lake Como mansion worth now? 🇮🇹

He bought it for around $13M in 2002.

It's not just appreciation.
That’s location + scarcity + global prestige compounding over two decades.

Luxury real estate doesn’t behave like median housing.
It moves differently.
It’s driven by brand, geography, and ultra-high-net-worth demand.

Same asset class.
Completely different rules.

#LuxuryRealEstate #HousingMarket #MortgageLife #RealEstateInvesting #MarketTrends

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