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CFPB: Prepare to Shop for a Mortgage

Publisher: Consumer Financial Protection BureauLast checked: 2026-08-18

The CFPB’s mortgage preparation guide covers credit, budgets, down payments, loan choices, documents, and questions consumers should consider before contacting lenders.

Why it is useful: It offers a disciplined financing checklist that rental-property beginners can adapt while remembering that investment-property underwriting and pricing may differ from owner-occupied loans.

Keep in mind: The guide primarily addresses homebuyers and does not promise eligibility or cover every investment-property loan. Lender rules, rates, and costs change.

Why it is useful

It offers a disciplined financing checklist that rental-property beginners can adapt while remembering that investment-property underwriting and pricing may differ from owner-occupied loans. It also gives readers a named government, regulator, or institutional source to compare with promotional claims before making a financial, tax, borrowing, or property decision.

Limitations

The guide primarily addresses homebuyers and does not promise eligibility or cover every investment-property loan. Lender rules, rates, and costs change.

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www.consumerfinance.gov

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