Self-employed borrowers with a strong most-recent tax year may qualify for a conventional mortgage using just one year of returns. Here's how the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exception works.

Most people assume that if a bank says no, the answer is no. That assumption costs people more than they realize. When a conventional lender declines a borrower, it usually isn't because the borrower can't afford the home. It's because the borrower's income, employment, or financial picture doesn't fit the documentation requirements the lender is working from. That's a different problem — and it has different solutions. Non-QM loans are one of those solutions. Non-QM stands f