Licensed in all 58 California counties. Save Financial closes loans efficiently with access to wholesale pricing across our lender network — without the runaround.
No SSN. No credit pull. Just real numbers in 60 seconds.
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Save Financial is a California-licensed mortgage broker (NMLS #377740, DRE #01875766) headquartered in Newport Beach with a second office in Marina del Rey. Founded in 2009 by Broker & President Mike Basti, we offer purchase loans, refinances, jumbo, non-QM, DSCR, and home-equity products across all 58 California counties — with wholesale pricing through our lender network and a written $500 best-price guarantee.
First-time buyer in Riverside. Self-employed founder in Palo Alto. Veteran in San Diego. Investor scaling a portfolio in Sacramento. We've built loan programs for each of them.
The flagship choice. Best rates for borrowers with 620+ credit and 3% down or more, up to the 2026 California conforming limit of $806,500.
Built for first-time and credit-rebuilding buyers. Just 3.5% down with credit scores starting at 580. CalHFA-approved lender.
Zero down. No PMI. Better rates. For eligible active-duty service members, veterans, and surviving spouses across California.
Loans above the $806,500 conforming limit, up to $5M. Built for California's high-cost markets like the Bay Area, Coastal LA, and Orange County.
Qualify on the rental income of the property — not your tax returns. The fastest way to scale a real estate portfolio in California.
For self-employed founders, 1099 contractors, and gig workers. Qualify using 12 or 24 months of bank statements — no W-2s required.
Lower your rate, shorten your term, or pull cash out of your California home. Rate-and-term and cash-out programs across all loan types.
Tap your California home's equity without touching your first mortgage. Standalone or piggyback, draw against equity up to 90% CLTV.
Fixed-rate second mortgage — lump sum of equity with a predictable payment. 10-, 15-, 20-, and 30-year terms up to 85% CLTV.
Replace your first mortgage and pull tax-free cash from your equity. Up to 80% LTV on primary, fixed rate, one loan.
CalHFA, MyHome, Dream For All, and conventional first-time buyer programs — down payment as low as 0% to 3%.
Conventional, DSCR, and portfolio loans for California rentals. Single-family, 2-4 unit, and short-term rental specialists.
For 1099s and business owners who write off too much to qualify on tax returns. Qualify on 12-24 months of deposits.
USDA, fix-and-flip, ITIN, asset-based, reverse mortgage, rate-and-term refi, purchase, and more. Every California mortgage program in one place.
View all 20 programs → — / Not sure?Our California-licensed loan officers will walk you through every program and find the one that actually fits your life. No pressure, no quotas.
Book a free consult →We've engineered the most boring part of homeownership to be the easy one.
Fill out our 60-second form. No SSN, no credit pull. A loan officer calls you within the hour with real numbers.
Upload pay stubs, W-2s, and bank statements through our encrypted portal. Pre-approval letter in 24 hours.
Make a competitive offer backed by a fully-underwritten pre-approval — sellers and agents take it seriously.
Final docs signed at a notary near you. fund efficiently when documentation is complete. Keys are yours.
We close loans in every California ZIP code. Each market has its own quirks — county loan limits, transfer taxes, HOA rules — and we know yours.
$500 BEST PRICE GUARANTEE
Bring us your locked Loan Estimate from any competing lender. If Save Financial cannot beat the combination of interest rate, lender fees, and monthly mortgage insurance, we will mail you a $500 check. Valid on Conventional Conforming, FHA, and VA loans of $200,000 or higher.
What our California borrowers actually say
Every review below is a real Save Financial client review from Google, Yelp, and Zillow. Names abbreviated for privacy; full reviews available at Yelp, Zillow, and Google Reviews.
Nara K. · San Clemente, Orange County
Mike and team are awesome! The rate was great, escrow costs low and they closed my refinance ahead of schedule! I have made several purchases over the years and can confidently state that Mike is at a very high level of providing you the best financial deal as well as the service to back it up.
Liam F. · Palo Alto, Santa Clara County
We received a great rate and excellent service with Ali at Save Financial. Ali kept us updated at every stage of the process. Our loan paperwork sailed smoothly through the system ahead of schedule. Would happily do business with Ali and his company again. Strong recommend!
Johny R. · Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
I worked with Ali on my refinancing needs and couldn't be happier. He is very professional, responds to your questions in timely manner. He went above and beyond with my refinancing needs to get me the BEST rate possible. He offered great advice which option was best for me.
Erika H. · Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
We shopped around a lot when looking for loans for our refinance. Ali with Save Financial consistently had the lowest rates and the best deal. More than that, he took the time to explain every detail, was honest and upfront from the start, and he made the whole process smooth and worry free.
Shannon L. · San Diego, San Diego County
I honestly don't know how Mike did it because he got me an amazing rate that I couldn't find anywhere else and boy did I shop around. Additionally, he was really good at explaining the costs and all my options in a very simple way so I could understand. All in all, I really felt I could trust him.
Ted B. · Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Ali is the best! I've been in the real estate industry for 31 years and I've worked with many, many lenders and Ali stands out on top. He was always quick to respond to emails; he delivered as promised; he was helpful and friendly and always followed up. On top of that we got a fantastic rate!
Greg C. · Temecula, Riverside County
The entire experience with Ali was positive from start to finish. Everything that he discussed on the initial call came through as planned. The process was efficient, Ali was always available with quick responses to questions, and the entire refi experience was seamless. The rate was competitive.
Scott T. · Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Both Mike and Ali helped us buying and selling homes, financing and re-financing. In every transaction, they explained all the details to us. They are very experienced, professional, responsive, very quick. The last sale of our house took less than a month. They are also very good at finding best deals for financing.
SISTER BROKERAGE · BUYING A HOME?
When you buy a home through Portfolio Home Realty — Save Financial's sister real estate brokerage — you receive 1% of the purchase price back at close of escrow, on top of your Save Financial mortgage. On a $1.2M Newport Beach home, that's $12,000 cash back. Same Mike Basti, same offices, fully licensed (DRE #02232009).
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SoCal cities served
1%
Cash back at closing
5.0★
Google rating
Pair Portfolio Home Realty's buyer rebate with a Save Financial mortgage and you can use your 1% cash back as a rate buy-down — effectively lowering your mortgage rate by approximately 0.25%-competitive wholesale pricing on most California purchase loans.
Save Financial is a licensed California mortgage lender headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, serving borrowers across the entire state. We offer conventional, FHA, VA, jumbo, DSCR investor, non-QM bank statement, refinance, and HELOC loan programs. According to internal closing data, our loans fund efficiently when documentation is complete — roughly half the industry efficiently from reported by industry data sources.
Yes. Save Financial is licensed to originate residential mortgage loans in every county across California — all 58 of them. That includes Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Riverside, San Bernardino, Fresno, Bakersfield, and every other market in the state. We track each county's loan limits, transfer tax structure, and recording timelines so your close stays on schedule.
Minimum credit score requirements vary by program. FHA loans accept scores as low as 580 with 3.5% down. VA loans typically require 580+. Conventional loans require 620+. Jumbo loans usually require 700+. DSCR investor loans typically require 660+. Save Financial offers a free credit-improvement consult during pre-approval to help borrowers below threshold reach qualifying scores within 30–90 days.
Minimum down payments by program: VA loans 0% for eligible veterans; USDA loans 0% in rural-eligible California zones; FHA loans 3.5%; Conventional 3% for first-time buyers, 5% otherwise; Jumbo typically 10–20%; DSCR typically 20–25%. Save Financial is a CalHFA-approved lender, which means qualified borrowers can stack down payment assistance worth up to $25,000 with conventional or FHA loans.
Save Financial closes loans efficiently when documentation is complete from application to funding. By contrast, the the national average is meaningfully longer. Purchase loans with complete documentation can close efficiently. Refinances typically close efficiently due to the 3-day TRID rescission period for owner-occupied refinances.
A DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loan is a real estate investor mortgage that qualifies the borrower based on the rental income of the subject property rather than the borrower's personal income or tax returns. The DSCR is calculated as gross monthly rent ÷ monthly PITIA; most lenders require 1.0 or higher. DSCR loans are ideal for landlords, short-term rental (Airbnb / VRBO) operators, and self-employed investors who want to grow a portfolio without conventional income documentation.
Yes. Save Financial offers non-QM bank statement loans that qualify self-employed borrowers, gig workers, 1099 contractors, and small business owners using 12 or 24 months of personal or business bank statements instead of W-2s, tax returns, or P&L statements. Loan amounts go up to $3 million with down payments starting at 10%.
The 2026 baseline conforming loan limit set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is $806,500 for one-unit properties in most California counties. High-cost counties — including Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Marin, and others — have a high-balance conforming limit of $1,209,750. Loans above the applicable county limit are classified as jumbo loans.
Save Financial is an independent mortgage banker, not a retail bank. This structure means we shop your loan across 40+ wholesale and correspondent investors and pass the best pricing through to you. According to our internal rate-shop data over the past 12 months, Save Financial's locked rate beat the borrower's bank quote in 91% of comparison cases by an average of competitive APR. Lower rates plus a faster close.
Free education from California's mortgage experts
In-depth guides that answer the real questions California buyers and homeowners ask — written by licensed loan officers, not SEO writers.
Everything you need to buy your first home in California — credit, down payment programs (CalHFA, MyHome, Dream For All), and the full process.
Read guide →
InvestorHow DSCR qualifies on rental income (not your taxes), the math, LLC vesting, short-term rental rules, and how investors scale 5+ properties.
Read guide →
RefinanceThe break-even rule, cash-out vs rate-and-term, and the four scenarios where refinancing is worth it (and three where it isn't).
Read guide →
Self-EmployedBank statement loans, P&L only, asset depletion — how 1099 contractors and business owners qualify without two years of tax returns.
Read guide →
ProcessThe real difference, why California sellers reject pre-qual letters, and how to get a fully underwritten pre-approval in 24-72 hours.
Read guide →
ReferenceEvery mortgage term — from amortization to yield spread — explained in plain English. The reference California buyers bookmark.
Read guide →
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A California mortgage payment has four parts: principal, interest, property taxes (averaging 1.1% of home value), and homeowners insurance. Try the numbers, then get a real quote.
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Save Financial is a boutique California mortgage lender with a deliberately small team of senior loan officers. No call centers. When you call, you reach the same person from application through closing.
Fresh weekly
Weekly rate updates and California market analysis from Save Financial's loan officers. No fluff, no clickbait — just the numbers and what they mean.
For most California buyers who can comfortably afford today's payment, the data favors buying now rather than waiting. As of May 21, 2026, the average California 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.45% — down from late-2023 highs near 8%…
By the Save Financial Team →
If you're under contract on a California home with a closing date soon, expert consensus across Better, Money.com, CBS News, Bankrate, and most California lenders is the same: lock your rate now. As of May 20, 2026, Califo…
By the Save Financial Team →
On a $150,000 California household income with average debts, the standard 28/36 rule supports a home priced between $560,000 and $720,000 — but California's real-world affordability is often $50,000-$100,000 lower than that, due to M…
By the Save Financial Team →
