Raleigh Mortgage Blog

  • Cosign a Mortgage in Raleigh NC: The Real Trade-Off

    ByKevin Martini

    Cosign a mortgage in Raleigh, and a single signature can move a debt-to-income ratio enough to clear an approval a buyer assumed was a year away. Kevin Martini break down what a non-occupant co-borrower actually changes on a Wake County loan file, and what it doesn’t fix. First-time buyers across the Triangle, from Cary to Wake Forest, often don’t realize they’re one specific ratio away from qualifying alone. The distinction between a cosigner and North Carolina’s Family Opportunity Mortgage trips up even experienced Raleigh real estate agents.

  • FHA vs Conventional 680 Credit Score: The Real Answer

    ByKevin Martini

    FHA vs conventional 680 credit score comparisons rarely come down to approval odds since both minimums are cleared easily at that score. The real difference is mortgage insurance structure: FHA’s fixed 0.55 percent rate versus conventional’s tiered PMI pricing. Kevin Martini of Martini Mortgage Group run this exact math for Raleigh and Wake County buyers weekly, finding FHA often wins with low down payments while conventional pulls ahead near 10 percent down or a fast path to 20 percent equity.

  • Income Needed for a 500K House in Raleigh: The Real Number

    ByKevin Martini

    Income needed for a 500K house in Raleigh is not a single number pulled from a national calculator. It ranges from about $134,000 to $165,000 a year depending on down payment size, existing debt, and the mortgage rate locked at closing. Kevin Martini of Martini Mortgage Group built this breakdown using Wake County’s actual combined property tax rate and Freddie Mac’s current 30-year average, not a generic estimate. A buyer putting 20 percent down needs meaningfully less income than one putting 5 percent down, even on the identical Raleigh house. The real number is decided at the closing table, not by the price tag alone.