Not a bank
A retail bank has one rulebook. If your file fits it, you get a fine loan. If it does not, you get declined, and nobody tells you that a different lender would have said yes to the identical scenario.
I place files with more than fifty wholesale lenders. On a straightforward W-2 purchase that mostly buys you a better rate. On a self-employed file, an investment property, or anything Non-QM, it regularly decides whether the loan happens at all.
Where I work in LA County
Licensed across California and working the Westside, the South Bay and Long Beach most closely. In practice my Los Angeles work falls into three areas.
The Westside
Venice, Marina del Rey, Culver City, Mar Vista, Playa del Rey and Santa Monica. This is the densest concentration of self-employed and 1099 income in the county. Production crews, agency and studio freelancers, editors, designers, creators and founders paying themselves distributions.
It is also where the most trapped equity sits. Venice near $2.0 million and Marina del Rey near $1.34 million means owners who bought even a few years ago have real appreciation they have not touched. Culver City is the one moving fastest, up nearly 27% year over year and selling in about 39 days.
Long Beach and the South Bay
This is where investment property actually pencils in LA County. Long Beach has genuine depth of 2-4 unit inventory, with duplexes near $880,000 and fourplexes near $1.17 million, and vacancy running near 3.9%. The South Bay posted the strongest rent growth in the county at 5.5%.
Torrance, Redondo Beach, Gardena, Lawndale and Hawthorne carry attainable price points that work for both first-time buyers and small investors.
The wider basin
Inglewood, the Hawthorne corridor and inland submarkets that are still repricing. Heavier investor and first-time buyer mix, lower entry points.
What I actually specialize in
- Self-employed and 1099 borrowers. Bank statement and 1099 programs that qualify on deposits rather than write-offs. See self-employed mortgages in Los Angeles.
- Investment property and DSCR. Qualify on the property's rent, close in an LLC, no cap on financed properties. See DSCR loans in Long Beach.
- Small multifamily. Duplex through fourplex, including FHA house hacking at 3.5% down. See 2-4 unit financing.
- Home equity. HELOCs that leave a low first mortgage rate untouched. See HELOCs in Los Angeles.
- Conventional, FHA, VA and jumbo. The standard programs, priced across the full lender panel rather than one bank's sheet.
Why the complicated files come to me
Most of what I close is not a clean W-2 purchase. It is a borrower who filed a tax extension, or whose income arrives in four payments a year, or who wants to pull equity from one property to buy the next and needs both files sequenced so the first funds before the second closes.
One recent client owned an investment property with trapped equity and wanted a multi-unit. The down payment was inside the first property. We ran a cash-out refinance and a purchase simultaneously, with the refinance having to fund first. It did, and the purchase funded eighteen days later. He went from one investment property to two without writing a new check.
That is a sequencing problem, not a lending problem, and it is the kind of thing a single-program lender cannot solve.
Licensed across California
Los Angeles is one of three markets I work most. Pacific Trust Mortgage is headquartered on the Central Coast, where the firm was voted Best Mortgage Company in SLO County by New Times readers in 2025 and 2026, and San Diego County is the third. Licensed across California.
If your property is somewhere else in California, the programs are the same and the answer is still yes.
Los Angeles Mortgage FAQ
What can you do that a bank cannot?
A bank lends its own money under one set of guidelines. I submit your file to wholesale lenders and picks whichever program fits best. With access to 50+ lenders, I can price the same scenario several ways and choose the guideline set that reads your income or property most favorably. On complicated files that is often the difference between approved and declined, not just a better rate.
Do you charge the borrower a fee?
Compensation is disclosed in writing on your Loan Estimate before you commit to anything. You will see exactly what it is and how it is paid. Ask me directly at any point and I will walk through the numbers on your specific file.
What credit score do I need?
It depends entirely on the program. FHA can work in the low 600s, conventional generally wants 620 and up, DSCR typically starts around 660, and bank statement programs usually around 680. Better scores unlock better pricing across all of them. If you are close to a threshold, it is often worth waiting a few weeks before applying rather than locking in worse terms.
Can you help if I was already declined somewhere?
Often, yes, and it is a common reason people call. A decline at one lender is a decline under one set of guidelines. Self-employed borrowers and investors get turned down constantly by lenders whose rulebook simply does not accommodate them. Send me the reason you were declined and I will tell you honestly whether a different program solves it.
How long does a purchase take to close in LA?
Conventional and FHA typically run 30 to 40 days. DSCR files often close in 21 to 30 because there is less documentation to collect. The variable that actually matters is how quickly conditions get cleared, not the program. Files that close fast are the ones where the paperwork was gathered before it was requested.
Do you work with first-time buyers?
Yes, and it is some of my favorite work. Three of my four Google reviews are from first-time buyers. In LA County the most interesting option most first-timers have never heard of is buying a 2-4 unit property with FHA at 3.5% down, living in one unit and renting the others. In Long Beach that puts you in the market with far less cash than buying a single family home.
Which parts of Los Angeles County do you serve?
All of it. Based on the Venice and Marina del Rey border, working most actively across the Westside, Culver City, the South Bay, Long Beach and the Inglewood and Hawthorne corridor. Licensed across California, so anywhere in the county and anywhere in the state.
Do you still work outside Los Angeles?
Yes. Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo and San Diego are my three primary markets. Pacific Trust Mortgage is headquartered on the Central Coast and was voted Best Mortgage Company in SLO County by New Times readers two years running. Licensed statewide, so wherever the property is, the programs are the same.