📞 First Call with a Mortgage Broker: What to Expect & How to Prepare 🏡

Bill Rapp - Commercial & Residential Mortgage Broker

Published on: 17/01/2026

📞 What to Expect on Your First Call with a Mortgage Broker For many buyers, the first call with a mortgage broker feels intimidating. It should not. That initial conversation is not a sales pitch or a credit interrogation—it is a strategy session designed to clarify your options, identify potential obstacles, and map out the smartest path forward.

Bill Rapp, Commercial Mortgage Broker

🔁 Refinancing in 2026: Rate vs. Term vs. Cash-Out vs. HELOC—What Actually Wins? 💰

Bill Rapp - Commercial & Residential Mortgage Broker

Published on: 16/01/2026

Refinancing in 2026: Rate, Term, Cash-Out, and HELOCs Compared Refinancing is back on the table in 2026—but it looks very different than it did during the ultra-low-rate era. Today’s borrowers are no longer refinancing just to chase lower rates. Instead, homeowners are using refinancing strategically to improve cash flow, restructure debt, unlock equity, or prepare for future investment opportunities.

Bill Rapp, Commercial Mortgage Broker

🔓 The Mortgage Lock-In Is Breaking — What It Means for Buyers & Sellers in 2026 🏡📉

Bill Rapp - Commercial & Residential Mortgage Broker

Published on: 15/01/2026

The Mortgage Lock-In Effect Is Fading — and That Changes Everything For nearly three years, the U.S. housing market has been frozen by one powerful force: the mortgage lock-in effect. Millions of homeowners with ultra-low pandemic-era mortgage rates simply refused to move, choking off inventory and keeping prices elevated despite higher interest rates.

Bill Rapp, Commercial Mortgage Broker

💼 Debt Funds Are Redefining CRE Distress in 2026 📉➡️📈

Bill Rapp - Commercial & Residential Mortgage Broker

Published on: 14/01/2026

Debt Funds and the New Shape of CRE Distress Commercial real estate distress in the current cycle looks nothing like the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis. While headlines continue to focus on rising defaults and valuation resets, the data tells a very different story: forced asset sales remain historically low. The primary reason is structural—private debt funds, especially those active in mezzanine lending, have fundamentally reshaped how distress is absorbed and resolved in a positive way.

Bill Rapp, Commercial Mortgage Broker