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Santa Clarita · Home Loans · New-Construction Real Estate

Home financing that actually fits the life you've built.

Hey, I'm Chance. Move-up, jumbo, investment property, first place, new build — every kind of home loan, plus new-construction representation on the real-estate side. Ask your questions, take the guides, get a straight answer. Nobody calls you unless you ask. That's on purpose.

Already know exactly what you want? Skip ahead and start your pre-approval →

NMLS# 2529600 CA DRE# 02245979 American Family Funding
The Readiness Read · no credit pull · nothing touches your score

Five questions. Then you'll know where you stand.

Gut answers are fine. You get an instant read built from your answers, right here on the page. Want my personal take on top of it? I write those myself and send them the same day.

Question 1 of 5 ~2 min · no credit pull

When do you want keys in hand?

Gut answer is fine. This just sets the pace.

What price range are you eyeing?

For context, most SCV new builds land between $700K and $2.5M.

Is this your first home?

No wrong answer. It just changes the playbook.

Honest guess. Where's your credit?

No pull, no judgment. A rough band is all I need.

Last one. What's saved for the down payment so far?

Count gifts and any equity you could bring. Rough is fine.

Reading your answers…

Placing your credit band…

0/100
 

Credit

Price point

The move

This is an educational signal built from five answers — not a pre-qualification, an approval, or a rate quote. The written read goes deeper: I do it myself, same day when I can manage it, always within one business day.

Where should I send the written version?

You'll get this read in writing, plus what I'd actually do next in your spot. Written by me, not a bot.

Phone required — I'll only call if you pick "Phone call."

Same-day when I can manage it · always within one business day · nobody calls unless you ask.

✓

It's on the way.

Watch your inbox. Your written read lands same-day when I can manage it, always within one business day. No call unless you asked for one.

Your answers stay private. Not a loan application or credit check.

By submitting you agree to receive email from Chance Stevens regarding your results. Unsubscribe anytime. Informational only — not a pre-qualification or commitment to lend. Privacy Policy

Who you're dealing with

One person. One office. Real backing.

$1B+ funded locally

The American Family Funding branch behind every loan I write has funded more than a billion dollars in home loans for Southern California families. Small office, serious desk.

Not a call center

One office on The Old Road in Santa Clarita. You get me from first question to keys in hand, and I answer my own email.

Look me up before you trust me

I'd prefer it, honestly. NMLS# 2529600, CA DRE# 02245979. AFF is a division of American Pacific Mortgage (NMLS# 1850). I originate home loans in California and can refer you to a trusted APM partner in any state except New York — or read AFF client reviews.

Branch loan-volume figure: American Family Funding, Santa Clarita. Cumulative funded volume; not a guarantee of individual outcomes.

Second Opinion · already shopping?

A second set of eyes on your Loan Estimate.

Send the LE or paste the numbers. I'll flag junk fees, bad lock timing, and points that don't pencil. If your current deal is solid, I'll say so and you can stop wondering.

  • Line by line, in plain English, within one business day
  • No switch required. This is a sanity check, not a pitch.
  • If I can beat it, I show the math. If I can't, I say that.
Second Opinion

Send me the numbers

Paste the key terms from your Loan Estimate, or upload the PDF.

Phone required — I'll only call if you pick "Phone call."

Plain-English read within one business day · no switch required · no sales pitch.

Prefer email? Send your PDF to chance@chanceatfinance.com.

✓

Got it.

I'll review your numbers and send a plain-English read within one business day.

By submitting you agree to receive email from Chance Stevens regarding your request, and to be contacted by the method you choose above (email, text, or a call). Any texts are sent manually — no automated marketing texts. Not a loan application. Loans subject to credit and property approval. Privacy Policy

Refi Watchlist · track-only

Set a rate you'd actually act on.

Tell me the number that makes a refi worth the paperwork to you. When the market gets there, you get one email from me. No weekly rate blasts, no "just checking in."

  • One alert when your target is in range
  • Watchlist only. Zero sales follow-up.
  • Unsubscribe anytime with one click
Refi Watchlist

Put a rate on my watchlist

Takes about 30 seconds. No credit check.

Phone required — I'll only call if you pick "Phone call."

One email when you hit your number · zero follow-up · unsubscribe anytime.

✓

You're on the watchlist.

One email when your target rate is in range. Nothing else.

By submitting you agree to receive email from Chance Stevens regarding rate alerts. Unsubscribe anytime with one click. Watchlist entry is informational only and not a loan application or commitment to lend. Privacy Policy

Go deeper · free guides

Read these before you talk to anyone.

Including me. These are the playbooks for the situations I handle most, written the way I'd explain them across a table. Free to read straight through — the email only comes in if you want the PDF.

Moving up

The Move-Up Playbook

Sell first or buy first, what your equity actually nets you, and how financing changes when the next house is the expensive one.

Read the playbook
Investors

The Investor Loan Playbook

DSCR loans, rental financing, and structuring deals so the property carries itself.

Read the playbook
New construction

The SCV New-Construction Guide

Every builder angle in the SCV. Timelines, incentives, and the sign-in-sheet mistake that costs buyers their own agent.

Read the guide
Self-employed

The Self-Employed Mortgage Guide

How lenders actually read your income when you write your own paycheck, and how to qualify without the runaround.

Read the guide
Not ready yet

The Mortgage Readiness Coach

Know you're not ready yet? A real plan for credit, savings, and timing. On your schedule, no pressure.

Start coaching
First-time buyer

The First-Time Buyer Playbook

Credit prep, low-down loan options, and the actual path from renting to keys in hand.

Read the playbook
2-minute quiz

Take the Readiness Read

Not sure which one fits? Five questions and I'll point you at the right one. No credit pull.

Start the read
Newsletter · zero spam

One short email, every other Tuesday.

What's moving in the SoCal market, what builders are doing, a rate check, and one thing worth knowing. Three minutes and you're out.

Every other Tuesday · ~3-min read · one-click unsubscribe.

✓

You're subscribed.

First issue lands on the next drop. Unsubscribe anytime.

Unsubscribe with one click from any email. Newsletter content is educational only — not financial, tax, or legal advice. Privacy Policy

Licensed NMLS# 2529600 · DRE# 02245979 Brokerage AFF / APM, NMLS# 1850 Equal Housing Lender Verify on NMLS Consumer Access →
Chance Stevens, Mortgage Loan Originator
About Chance

The guy reading your file himself.

Licensed mortgage loan originator doing every kind of home loan, and a new-construction specialist on the real-estate side. Based in Santa Clarita, working across LA County. Plain-spoken on purpose.

"I'd rather lose the deal than put you in the wrong loan. Most people who land here have already been pitched at. I'm not adding to that pile."
Listen first, structure second.

The loan gets built around your timeline, your family, and how you sleep at night. Never the other way around.

Plain English, every time.

If I can't explain a loan structure in two sentences without jargon, I don't understand it well enough to put you in it.

An honest no beats a convenient yes.

If your current lender's deal is better than mine, I'll tell you. One deal is not worth the reputation.

NMLS#2529600 CA DRE#02245979 BrokerageAFF / APM, NMLS# 1850 Service AreaSCV + LA County
Read the full story →
Straight answers

Questions people actually ask.

Do you pull my credit to take the quiz or get a read?
No. The Readiness Read and every form on this site are no-credit-pull — you get real answers without touching your score. I only check credit later, with your permission, once we’re actually starting a pre-approval.
What kinds of mortgages do you do?
Pretty much all of them — conventional, FHA, VA, jumbo, first-time-buyer programs, refinances, self-employed and bank-statement loans, investment-property loans, and new-construction financing. (New construction is also my specialty on the real-estate side, where I represent new-build buyers.) If your scenario fits better somewhere else, I’ll tell you.
What does it cost to work with you?
Nothing to talk to me. The quiz, a quote, and a Second Opinion are all free. If you move forward on a loan, I’m paid through the transaction and there are standard third-party closing costs — and I walk you through every line in plain numbers. No upfront fees, nothing hidden.
What credit score do I need for a new-construction home in Santa Clarita?
There’s no single cutoff. Plenty of new-construction buyers in Santa Clarita finance comfortably in the 680–740+ range, but I’ve helped buyers in the 620s find workable options, and some loan types go lower. Your score mostly sets your pricing, not whether you’re allowed in the door. The Readiness Read gives you an honest, band-by-band read with no credit pull — and the SCV New-Construction Guide walks through the full picture.
Do I have to use the builder’s preferred lender?
Almost never. Builders can offer incentives for using their in-house lender, but in most cases you’re free to choose your own — and sometimes the builder will still honor those incentives with an outside lender. I’ll tell you straight whether their bundle is actually the better deal. More in the First-Time Buyer Playbook.
Can you beat my builder’s lender?
Honestly, usually not — when a builder ties big incentives to their in-house lender, that bundle is hard to beat, and I won’t pretend otherwise. That’s not my pitch. What I do is two things: give you a strong, no-pressure second option so you know whether their deal is actually good, and check whether the builder will still give you those incentives even with an outside lender — which happens more than people expect. Either way, you’ll know you didn’t overpay.
Do you work with first-time buyers and low or no down payment?
Yes. I work with buyers at every stage — my practice centers on move-up buyers, higher-priced purchases, and investors, and I walk first-time buyers through low- and no-down-payment loan options in the same plain English. The Readiness Read shows you where you stand before you ever apply.
Do you handle higher-priced homes — $1M and up?
All the time. Above roughly $1.2M in LA County a loan stops being "conforming" and the rules change — bigger reserves, different pricing, more underwriting attention. Most buyers just know it as financing an expensive house; lenders call it a jumbo loan. Structured well, the pricing is often better than people expect, and how you structure the down payment and reserves matters more than the rate quote. That structuring is a core part of what I do for move-up and higher-end buyers.
What happens after I submit — and how fast?
I read it myself and send back a real, written answer — by email, or a text if you left your number — same-day, always within one business day. No autoresponder doing the thinking. I only call if you ask me to.
Where do you lend, and what do you handle?
On the mortgage side I handle the full range — purchase, refinance, first-time, move-up, jumbo, FHA/VA, self-employed, and new-construction financing. New construction is my specialty on the real-estate side, where I represent new-build buyers across Southern California (CA DRE# 02245979). I’m based in Santa Clarita and licensed to originate home loans in California; buying outside CA, I can refer you to a lender I trust in any state except New York.

Still have a question? Email me or DM @chanceatfinance.

Take the read — 2 minutes, no credit pull