Enable homeownership through well-researched content.
To give everyone who wants to own a home the absolute best chance to do so.
No mission worth having comes easy. That’s why we have thought this through from many angles to make it happen.
We tap experts with hands-on experience in the mortgage and real estate industry to write, edit, and review content. We also contract with housing-focused freelance writers who reach out to experts for real-world insights. Learn more about our contributors.
Tim Lucas oversees the site. He has 11 years of experience working in the mortgage industry and another 12 years creating content about mortgages and real estate. He is the former editor of The Mortgage Reports, MyMortgageInsider.com, and MilitaryVALoan.com and has appeared as an expert source in U.S. News, Realtor.com, and other publications.
We use information from primary sources whenever possible. For example, the Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes its 1,883-page FHA Handbook (4000.1) which outlines current FHA guidelines. Many editors don’t know how to access these types of documents from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, USDA, and the Veterans Administration, let alone use them to produce and fact-check content. Sadly, many websites publish already-outdated information because they used an erroneous source.
We source information from first-hand experience, government websites, and some well-known for-profit and non-profit sites, as long as they have as strong or stronger editorial standards as we do.
We follow updates issued by lending agencies like Fannie Mae, HUD, and others, as well as follow industry publications to know when changes happen. When a guideline changes or we discover an error, we update old content as quickly as possible. Readers may submit correction requests here.
Occasionally we may remove content completely when a program is discontinued. The article's presence may confuse readers; we may also remove content when the topic is no longer relevant.
We have built an editorial process that includes 3-4 “touches” per article: Writer, editor, fact checker, and legal review if warranted. No system is foolproof, but this process helps us catch not only errors, but statements that may overpromise and underdeliver, creating disappointment for readers.
While we make money when we match a reader with a lender (more on this below), these relationships don’t affect what content we write or how lenders appear in our articles.
We typically don’t rank lenders or other service providers except by verifiable facts, such as the biggest lenders by loan count, using government data. Ranking lenders by subjective data isn’t very helpful anyway, since one consumer might value an attribute, such credit score minimums, differently than another consumer, rendering the list useless.
We primarily create consumer-focused content for
First-time homebuyers
Younger homeowners who have purchased in the last few years
Because homebuying and homeownership are such massive topics, we feel that we can create better content for a smaller audience than if we tried to cover everything for everyone. On occasion, or in the future, we may publish news or advice for other audiences, but this is our focus for now.
Most of our content is written and reviewed by humans. On occasion, we will use AI to tighten content, brainstorm topics, or write sections of articles. We also use AI to clean and organize data for various reports. We do not publish articles completely written by AI.
Mortgage Research Network is owned by Three Creeks Media, a company committed to educating consumers about mortgages, real estate, personal finance and veteran benefits.
We make money when you are matched with a lender through a web form, rate table, or other connection opportunity on the site. This connection does not cost you anything additional. Lenders do not give you a worse rate or higher fees because you found them using this site. It’s simply part of the lender’s marketing budget that they might spend either way. There’s never any obligation to continue with a lender if you are not satisfied with them. This model means this site is absolutely free to you unless you choose to work with a featured lender.
