Apply Now
Authors
Laurie Richards

Laurie Richards

Laurie Richards is a writer and editor with seven years of editorial experience, specializing in home lending and higher education. As a current writer at Best Interest Financial, she helps aspiring first-time and repeat home buyers alike understand their home lending options. She also writes for Clever Real Estate.

Before writing for Best Interest Financial, Laurie spent more than two years as a mortgages editor at Bankrate. During her time at Bankrate, she also wrote articles on her experience as a first-time homeowner and other mortgage-related content.

Laurie has also worked as an editor for higher education sites such as BestColleges and Affordable Colleges Online. She holds an MA in English.

Expertise: Mortgages and refinancing, first-time homeownership, mortgage loss mitigation
Education: Binghamton University
Background: Former mortgages editor at Bankrate

Featured Published Articles

  • Feeling stuck in your homebuying journey because you're priced out of move-in-ready homes in your desired location, and anything in budget needs a lot of work that you can't pay for in cash? If so, you might be wondering how long you'll be sidelined from buying a home in this housing market. But there's an…

  • You have a significant amount of savings, investments, or other assets — maybe enough money to pay off a home loan without breaking a sweat — but a lender still denies you. Without traditional W-2 income streams and tax returns, qualifying for conventional mortgage financing can be tricky, but getting the financing to buy a…

  • If you're asset-rich or self-employed but have no traditional income documented by a W-2 or tax return, you might be wondering if you can still get a mortgage. After all, you have the means to buy a home, but not the documentation lenders traditionally look for to prove your ability to repay the loan. That's…

  • Buying a second home? Learn how lenders classify various second properties — plus the down payment, credit, and reserve requirements you'll need to qualify.

  • Seniors have several ways to tap home equity. Compare home equity loans, HELOCs, and reverse mortgages, plus learn how to qualify on a fixed retirement income.

  • See how conventional loans work in 2026: credit score and down payment minimums, current rates, PMI costs, and how they compare to FHA and USDA loans.