Learn home business loans, step by step — starting from zero.
eLoanTree is a loan education blog. Four pillar guides explain the basics of home loans, first-time buying, business loans, and mortgage rates. Deep-dive articles build on them whenever rates, limits, or rules change — and every figure carries its source and date.
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All 35 guides, in 7 groups. Pick a group to jump straight to it.
Start here: the four pillar guides
Start here — the basics of home, first-home, business and rates, from zero.
4 guides Group 2Latest deep dives
The most-asked questions in 2026, each linked back to its pillar guide.
6 guides Group 3Buying your first home
Preapproval, closing costs, PMI, credit scores and down-payment assistance.
7 guides Group 4Rates, locks & escrow
Fixed vs ARM, APR, rate locks, escrow and how mortgage rates are set.
5 guides Group 5Refinance & home equity
Streamline refinance, HELOC vs home equity loan, recast and when not to refinance.
5 guides Group 6Business & SBA loans
SBA 7(a) and 504, credit lines vs term loans, documents and startup loans.
5 guides Group 7Earlier guides
Our first three guides, now linked into the pillar structure above.
3 guides1.Start here: the four pillar guides
New to loans? Read these first. Each one explains the basic concepts and the step-by-step process in plain language, then links to the deep dives.
Home Loans, Explained from Zero: Purchase, Refinance, and HELOC
Start at zero: what a mortgage is, PITI and escrow, buying step by step, refinancing, and HELOC vs a home equity loan — with a dated, sourced rate example.
Read the guide →First Home Buyer Basics: Down Payment, Credit, DTI, and FHA vs Conventional
The 20% myth, credit scores, a worked DTI example, PMI vs MIP, and the correct 2026 FHA limits — $541,287 floor, $1,249,125 ceiling (HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-23).
Read the guide →Business Loans, Explained from Zero: SBA 7(a), 504, Express, and Conventional
What lenders actually look at, why the SBA guarantees loans instead of lending, each program's limit, DSCR, and the $10M combined rule explained.
Read the guide →Mortgage Rates, Explained from Zero: What Moves Them and How to Read Them
Fixed vs adjustable, the 10-year Treasury and the Fed, discount points and rate locks, and how to read Freddie Mac PMMS — 7.18% 30-year on Nov 5, 2026.
Read the guide →2.Latest deep dives
Focused articles on the questions readers ask most in 2026 — each one links back to its pillar guide and across to related deep dives.
Should I Refinance in 2026? The Break-Even Math
Closing costs ÷ monthly savings. Worked examples for 30-year vs 15-year, extra principal payments, and five situations where refinancing does not pay.
Read the guide →First Home Buyer in 2026: FHA Requirements, Down Payment, and House Hacking — Carefully
580 = 3.5% down, 500–579 = 10% down (HUD Handbook 4000.1), MIP costs and duration, the 2026 limits, and the 1-year occupancy rule behind house hacking.
Read the guide →Cash-Out Refinance vs HELOC vs Home Equity Loan: Keeping a Low 3% Rate
Blended-rate math on a $266,700 balance at 3% plus $60,000 of new money — why repricing the whole loan can cost far more than a second loan.
Read the guide →Beating a 7% Mortgage: 2-1 Buydown, ARM, Recast, and Discount Points
Four tools, four break-evens: how each lowers a payment, what it costs upfront, and the risk if you move, stay, or rates do not fall.
Read the guide →How Much Business Loan Can You Get? DSCR and the 2026 SBA Limit Table
A worked DSCR example, the full 2026 limit table, the July 4, 2026 combined $10M rule, and two social-media myths corrected with sources.
Read the guide →October 2026 Housing Market: Listings Pile Up, Contracts Fall
Median list price $415,000, active listings up 7.4%, but closings down 17% — the slowest October on record. What it means for buyers and sellers.
Read the guide →3.Buying your first home
Mortgage Preapproval, Step by Step: What Lenders Check, and How It Differs From Prequalification
If you are shopping for a home, you will hear two similar-sounding words very early: prequalification and preapproval. They are not the same thing, and mixing them up can cost you an offer. Prequalification…
Read the guide →Closing Costs, Explained: What They Are, Who Pays, and How to Estimate Them
Many first-time buyers save carefully for a down payment and then get a surprise at the end: closing costs. These are the fees you pay to complete the purchase and transfer the home into your name. They are…
Read the guide →PMI, Explained: When It Applies, What It Costs, and How to Remove It
If you buy a home with less than 20% down on a conventional loan, you will probably see a line on your monthly statement called PMI. Many buyers pay it for years without really knowing what it is, why they…
Read the guide →Your Credit Score for a Home Loan: What Lenders Look At, and How to Improve It Before You Apply
Of all the numbers in a home purchase, your credit score is the one buyers worry about most — and understand least. It is not a grade on your character, and it is not the only thing a lender looks at. But…
Read the guide →Down Payment Assistance in 2026: Grants, Forgivable Loans, and State Programs — How They Work
For many first-time buyers, the down payment is the hardest part of buying a home. Saving tens of thousands of dollars while paying rent can take years. Down payment assistance, usually called DPA, exists…
Read the guide →Same $1M House, Different Down Payment by County
A $1,000,000 house with FHA 3.5% down needs $35,000 in Los Angeles — or $458,713 in most other counties. The county, not the price, decides.
Read the guide →How Buying a Home Works, Step by Step
Budget and credit, down payment, preapproval, offer, inspection, underwriting, closing day — the whole process with two worked price examples: the US median $417,500 and a $1,000,000 house.
Read the guide →4.Rates, locks & escrow
Fixed vs Adjustable-Rate Mortgage: How ARMs Adjust, Caps, and When Each Fits
A mortgage is, at its simplest, a loan secured by a home. The biggest choice inside that loan — after how much you borrow and for how long — is how the interest rate behaves over time. With a fixed-rate…
Read the guide →APR vs Interest Rate: What APR Includes and Why You Should Compare Both
Two numbers appear on every mortgage offer, and they look like they should mean the same thing. They do not. The interest rate is the price of the money itself. The APR — the annual percentage rate — is a…
Read the guide →Rate Lock, Explained: How Long It Lasts, What It Costs, and When It Expires
Mortgage rates move every day. Between the day you apply for a loan and the day you close, the rate you were quoted can rise — and a higher rate means a higher monthly payment for years. A rate lock is the…
Read the guide →Escrow, Explained: Taxes and Insurance Inside Your Monthly Payment
When most people imagine a mortgage payment, they picture principal and interest: the money that pays down the loan and the cost of borrowing it. For many homeowners, the actual monthly payment is larger…
Read the guide →How Mortgage Rates Are Set: Treasury Yields, the Fed, and Lender Margins
Mortgage rates change every day, sometimes by a noticeable amount, and no single person decides them. They are market prices, set by investors buying and selling bonds, and then adjusted by lenders for the…
Read the guide →5.Refinance & home equity
Streamline Refinancing, Explained: The FHA and VA Shortcuts to a Lower Rate
A regular refinance can feel like buying a house all over again: a new appraisal, pay stubs, tax returns, a credit check, and weeks of waiting. A streamline refinance is the opposite idea. It is a…
Read the guide →Home Equity Loan vs. HELOC: The Deep Dive on Draw Periods, Repayment, and Variable-Rate Risk
You own a home, you have equity in it, and you need money — for a renovation, a major repair, or another large expense. Two products let you borrow against that equity without refinancing your first…
Read the guide →When NOT to Refinance: 5 Situations Where Refinancing Costs More Than It Saves
Refinancing is usually sold as a simple win: lower rate, lower payment, done. Sometimes it is. But a refinance is also a new loan with new closing costs, a new clock, and a new set of terms — and in several…
Read the guide →How to Recast Your Mortgage, Step by Step
There is a way to lower your monthly mortgage payment without refinancing, without a new interest rate, and without a credit check or an appraisal. It is called a recast — also known as re-amortization —…
Read the guide →Selling vs. Refinancing: How to Decide When You Need Cash or a Lower Payment
You need money, or you need a lower monthly payment, and your house is the biggest asset you own. Two very different moves can get you there: refinance the home you have, or sell it and move somewhere…
Read the guide →6.Business & SBA loans
SBA 7(a) Application, Step by Step: Eligibility, Documents, and Timeline
If you have ever looked at a small business loan and thought, "This is for someone else, not for me," the SBA 7(a) program is worth understanding first. It is the U.S. Small Business Administration's main…
Read the guide →SBA 504 Loan, Explained: Buying Your Building or Major Equipment
Most small business loans give you money and let you spend it on many different things. An SBA 504 loan is different. It exists for one job: helping a small business buy major fixed assets — mainly…
Read the guide →Business Line of Credit vs. Term Loan: Which One Fits Your Need?
Two businesses can borrow the same amount of money and have completely different experiences, because the shape of the loan matters as much as the size. The two most common shapes are a term loan and a…
Read the guide →Business Loan Documents Checklist: What Lenders Ask For, and How to Prepare
When a business owner says a loan "took forever," the delay is rarely the lender's decision. More often, it is the documents. A lender cannot underwrite a loan it cannot see. Every missing tax return, every…
Read the guide →Startup Business Loans: Options When You Have Little History
A startup has a simple problem and a hard one. The simple problem is that it needs money before it has made money. The hard problem is that lenders decide based on history, and a startup has very little of…
Read the guide →7.Earlier guides
Our first three guides, now linked into the pillar structure above.
How much business loan a $500K-revenue business can get
Revenue starts the conversation; cash flow and DSCR decide the number. Worked examples for service, retail, and restaurant margins.
Read the guide →Refinance vs HELOC: which fits your goal?
One replaces your mortgage, the other adds a line on top of it. Compare rate type, payments, and when each one usually fits.
Read the guide →SBA 7(a) loan requirements in 2026
Eligibility, credit expectations, down payment, personal guarantee, documents lenders ask for, and the step-by-step process.
Read the guide →Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about the numbers on this blog.
Is the rate in an article the rate I would get?
No. Articles cite dated national averages — for example, Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed average at 7.18% for the week ending November 5, 2026. That survey covers conventional, conforming purchase loans for borrowers with 20% down and excellent credit. Your rate depends on your credit, down payment, loan size, and lender, and no article guarantees a rate or approval.
What is a pillar guide?
A pillar guide is the long, from-zero explainer for one topic — home loans, first-time buying, business loans, or mortgage rates. Deep-dive articles cover one question in depth and link back to the pillar. When rules or limits change, the pillar is updated and the deep dive explains the change.
Are the loan limits on this blog current?
Each limit is printed with its source and effective date — for example, 2026 FHA one-unit limits of $541,287 to $1,249,125 come from HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, and the SBA combined $10M rule comes from SBA Policy Notice 5000-879058, effective July 4, 2026. Limits change over time, so confirm the current figure with a licensed lender.
Is eLoanTree a lender?
No. eLoanTree publishes educational content only. It is not a lender or broker, does not make loan decisions, and does not guarantee rates or approval. Final terms are decided by a licensed lender after a full review.
Educational-only disclosure
Content on this site is educational only and is not financial, legal, or lending advice. eLoanTree is not a lender or broker: it does not make loan decisions, guarantee rates or approval, issue offers, or collect borrower documents or Social Security numbers.
Rates, limits, and program rules are shown with their source and date and change over time. Confirm current figures with a licensed lender before making a decision.