Divorce. A death in the family. A house sold through the court. Debt that got ahead of you. A bankruptcy or foreclosure behind you. Straight answers from a Nevada lender who has worked these files since 1999, in English or Spanish, with no pressure and no legal advice. Just what usually happens and what to bring.
Tap a card. All six guides are live, each one written and reviewed by Art, in English and Spanish.
Keep it, buy out your ex, or sell.
Tap to flipWhat a quitclaim deed does and does not do, how the buyout math works, who qualifies alone, and when to sign what. The full guide is live.
Read the full guide →Tap to go backOne heir keeps it, the others get paid at one closing.
Tap to flipThe buyout is a refinance in your name that pays off any old loan and sends each heir their share the same day. A signed agreement between the heirs and the appraisal set the numbers. Often with no ownership waiting period at all.
Read the full guide →Tap to go backProbate, estate and trustee sales.
Tap to flipCourts and executors favor cash and give no financing contingency, so a real pre-approval before you bid is the whole game. Some court sales can be financed; a foreclosure auction on the courthouse steps cannot. Art tells you which is which.
Read the full guide →Tap to go backCards, a partner, a family member.
Tap to flipA cash-out refinance turns unsecured debt into debt your house secures. Sometimes that is the right move and sometimes it is the wrong one. Art shows you the honest math, including what it costs and what it risks, before you decide.
Read the full guide →Tap to go backEvery program has its own waiting clock.
Tap to flipFHA, VA, USDA and conventional loans each count from a different date and wait a different number of years. The clock does not always start where people think, and some borrowers are eligible sooner than they were told. Where you stand today and what to do while you wait.
Read the full guide →Tap to go backForbearance, modification, sell, refinance: in that order.
Tap to flipArt is not your servicer and cannot pause your payment. He can tell you what the real options are, in the order they usually work, who to call first, and how to spot a foreclosure rescue scam before it costs you the house.
Read the full guide →Tap to go backWhat usually gets the file done, and the first document to bring.
| Situation | Usual path | First document |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce, one spouse keeps the house | Refinance in one name, buyout paid at closing | The decree or settlement agreement, even in draft |
| Inherited home, one heir keeps it | Refinance with a signed heir agreement | Letters from the probate court or the trust papers |
| Buying a probate or estate sale | Pre-approval first, then a financed offer where the court allows it | Your pre-approval and proof of the deposit |
| Paying off debt or a person | Cash-out refinance, or a second loan that leaves your first loan alone | Statements for every debt you want to pay off |
| After bankruptcy or foreclosure | The program whose clock you have already run out | Discharge papers or the recorded deed date |
| Behind on payments | Servicer first: forbearance, repayment plan or modification | Your latest mortgage statement and the hardship letter |
Four things every underwriter looks at, and how a life event moves each one.
It is your income alone now.
Tap to flipIt is your income alone now. Alimony or child support can count if you choose to disclose it: at least six months received and at least three years still to come. A new job counts with the offer letter and the first pay stub.
Tap to go backSupport you pay counts as a debt when more than 10 months remain.
Tap to flipSupport you pay counts as a debt when more than 10 months remain. A debt the court assigned to someone else can usually be left out of your ratio on a conventional loan once the decree is signed, and on FHA after 12 months of the other person's payments.
Tap to go backEvery payment on a joint account reports on both of you until the account is closed or refinanced, whatever the decree says.
Tap to flipEvery payment on a joint account reports on both of you until the account is closed or refinanced, whatever the decree says. Keep the joint mortgage current through the whole process; one late payment can cost more than the appraisal.
Tap to go backThe deed says who owns the house.
Tap to flipThe deed says who owns the house. The note says who owes the bank. A decree, a will or a quitclaim can move the deed. Only a refinance, a formal assumption with a release, or a sale moves the note.
Tap to go backTwo minutes on the form below, or one call.
Tap to flipTwo minutes on the form below, or one call. No credit pull to talk.
Tap to go backDecree, will, court order, statements.
Tap to flipDecree, will, court order, statements. The paperwork decides what is possible, so he reads it before running a single number.
Tap to go backIn English or Spanish.
Tap to flipIn English or Spanish. If the honest answer is wait, or talk to an attorney first, he says so.
Tap to go backThe questions people type into search engines and ask AI assistants, answered the way Art answers them on the phone.
No. A conversation, a review of your paperwork and a written plan cost nothing, and there is no credit pull to have that conversation. Fees only come into play if you decide to move forward with a loan, and they are disclosed in writing before you commit to anything.
Not to talk. Art can tell you what a lender will need and what usually happens. For a divorce, an estate or a court sale you will need a licensed Nevada attorney for the legal side, and Art will say so plainly when that is the next step. He does not pay for or receive attorney referrals.
No. Nothing on this site pulls credit. A credit report is only ordered when you apply for a loan, with your written authorization, and Art tells you before it happens.
Yes. Art is bilingual and handles the whole file in Spanish when that is what you want, from the first call to the signing table. Federal disclosures still come in English, and he walks you through each one.
Yes, with your written permission. In a divorce or an estate the decree, the appraisal and the loan have to agree with each other, and that goes faster when the people writing them are talking. Nobody pays anybody for the introduction.
Usually, yes. You qualify on your own income and credit. Nevada is a community property state, so on FHA and VA loans the lender also counts your spouse's debts even when your spouse is not on the loan; conventional loans do not. A signed separation agreement that spells out support and who pays which debts makes the file much cleaner.
Yes. Federal law stops the lender from calling the loan due because a spouse or a relative inherited the home and lives in it, and the servicer has to recognize you as the successor in interest and talk to you about the loan. Send the death certificate, keep paying, and ask in writing to be recorded as the successor. If you later want the loan in your own name, or a lower payment, that is a refinance, and Art can run it.
The application asks, and the documents show it anyway: the decree, the death certificate, the discharge. None of it changes the standards you are held to. What it changes is which documents prove your income, your debts and your ownership, and that is exactly what Art wants to see first.
Then the order of operations matters more than the score. Some programs are built for recent hardship, some need time, and a few late payments can often be explained with the decree or the death certificate behind them. Art reads the report with you, line by line, and the credit guide on this site covers the rebuild.
A refinance or a purchase with clean paperwork typically closes in 30 to 45 days. What slows a life-event file is never the lender: it is a decree that is not signed, a probate that is not closed, or an heir who has not signed the agreement. Start the conversation before those are done and the loan is ready the day they are.
Anywhere in Nevada personally, from Reno and Sparks to Las Vegas, Elko and the rural counties. For a home in another state Art introduces you to a PRMG loan officer licensed there and stays on the file as your point of contact.
Then you get a date and a short list. Which program opens up first, what the file needs by then, and what to stop doing in the meantime. Art keeps the file warm and calls when the clock runs out. Plenty of people on this page close a year after the first call.
Program guidelines change. This page describes what usually happens; your file may differ. Not a Loan Estimate, not a commitment to lend.
Prefer to talk? Call or text Art at 775-404-0006. English or Spanish.
Marital status, family status and where your income comes from do not change how a file is evaluated. Federal fair-lending law requires that, and it is how Art has worked since 1999.
This page is educational material published by Art Loera, a Nevada-licensed mortgage loan originator (NMLS #367308) with PRMG. Art is not an attorney, a certified public accountant, a tax preparer, a financial planner or a housing counselor, and nothing here is legal, tax, accounting, investment or credit-repair advice, or a substitute for advice from a licensed professional who knows your facts. Divorce, probate, bankruptcy, foreclosure and tax questions turn on details this page cannot see. Before you act, consult a licensed Nevada attorney, a CPA or tax professional, or a HUD-approved housing counselor. Reading this page or contacting Art does not create an attorney-client, accountant-client or lender-borrower relationship, and nothing here is an offer, a Loan Estimate, a commitment to lend, a rate quote or a guarantee of approval. Program rules, statutes and dollar thresholds change; the figures here were checked against the publishers' own text on the review date below and can be superseded. Art does not pay or receive referral fees from attorneys, accountants or counselors. If you are facing a deadline in a court case, a foreclosure notice or a tax filing, meet the deadline first and get professional help now.
Written and reviewed by Art Loera, NMLS #367308. Published September 4, 2026, updated September 4, 2026.
With 27+ years in mortgage lending, Art Loera has helped thousands of families across Nevada and California. Through PRMG’s Affinity Fulfillment Services, Art now connects borrowers in 48 states with experienced, licensed loan officers. 315 verified reviews · 5.0 stars.
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