5 out of 5 stars
I had been told no by two banks. Carmen mapped out nine months of work, checked in every quarter, and I closed on a house in Conley Hills with under $2,400 out of pocket.
Tamika Ellison
East Point · FHA with Georgia Dream assistance
A neighborhood lender in Midtown Atlanta
The Atlanta lender that actually files the assistance paperwork.
Down payment help goes unclaimed in Georgia every year because it adds work to a loan file. We do the work. Since 2009 we have funded 2,140 metro Atlanta families, about half of them buying their first home.
- 2,140+Metro Atlanta families funded since 2009
- 19 daysMedian purchase close, last 12 months (sample)
- 4.9/5Average rating from 1,284 client reviews
- 11Loan officers who close files in Spanish
Loan programs
Ten loan programs, and a straight answer about which one fits
We are a broker, so we are not steering you toward the one product we happen to sell. Here are the six we write most often.
- ConventionalThe workhorse loan, and the only common program where the mortgage insurance comes off later.
- FHAFlexible credit and higher debt ratios, with 3.5% down. The door-opener for a lot of our clients.
- VANo down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance, for service members and veterans.
- First-time buyerA low-down-payment first mortgage paired with every Georgia assistance dollar you qualify for.
- RefinanceWe run the math before you apply and tell you honestly when the answer is not yet.
- Home equity lineDraw what you need without touching the low rate you already have on your mortgage.
Where are you in the process?
Four conversations, four different sets of math. Pick the one that sounds like you.
$11,400Median assistance our first-time buyers received last year (sample)
You are closer than you have been told
Most first-time buyers we meet think they need 20% down and a 760 score. Neither is true, and there is assistance money sitting unclaimed in Georgia every year.
- Conventional from 3% down, FHA from 3.5%, VA and USDA from nothing
- Sample assistance programs from $7,500 to $20,000 toward your costs
- Free homebuyer education enrollment and tracking so it never delays closing
- A written plan if you are six or twelve months away, with quarterly check-ins
28 daysMedian close on jumbo purchase files (sample)
Selling and buying at the same time
The hard part is rarely the loan. It is the timing, the bridge, and whether you can qualify carrying two payments for six weeks.
- Qualification modeled with and without the departing residence
- Equity bridge options compared against a HELOC on the current home
- Jumbo financing for North Fulton and Buckhead price points
- Restricted stock, bonus and K-1 income read properly by the right investor
23 monthsTypical break-even on a metro Atlanta refinance (sample)
One division problem decides it
Closing costs divided by monthly savings gives you a break-even month. If that number is longer than you plan to stay, we will tell you to keep your money.
- Free break-even analysis with no credit pull and no application
- Appraisal waiver screening, which removes about $600 and a week
- Matched-term comparison so you are not quietly restarting a 30-year clock
- FHA to conventional switches that remove the permanent insurance premium
$135,000Available on a $500,000 home with a $260,000 balance (sample)
Usually a line, sometimes a refinance
If your first mortgage rate is low, replacing the whole balance to reach equity is expensive. We will say so, even though the refinance pays us more.
- Every cash-out quote comes with a HELOC alternative side by side
- Debt consolidation totaled against what you pay across cards today
- Renovation draws sized so you are not borrowing twice
- Appraisal preparation, because a higher value directly means more cash
The money nobody claims
Georgia sets aside real assistance for first-time buyers. Most of it goes unused because the paperwork is tedious, not because buyers do not qualify.
Community lending
We file the assistance applications other lenders skip
Two lenders, two sets of conditions, one point of contact. You never chase the second approval, and you get the forgiveness schedule in writing before you sign anything.
- Sample state, city and county programs from $7,500 to $20,000
- Forgivable, deferred and repayable structures explained in plain English
- Homebuyer education enrolled and tracked so it never holds up closing
- Bilingual support at every step, including the attorney's table
Client story
Nine months of work, then a closing table
I had been told no by two banks. Carmen mapped out nine months of work, checked in every quarter, and I closed on a house in Conley Hills with under $2,400 out of pocket.
5 out of 5 stars
Tamika Ellison
East Point · worked with Carmen De La Cruz
- Program used
- FHA plus Georgia Dream assistance
- Out of pocket at closing
- Under $2,400 (sample)
- Time from first call
- 9 months of credit work
Lending across metro Atlanta, inside and outside the perimeter
Six neighborhoods, six different conversations
What matters in Decatur is an appraisal gap. In East Point it is assistance stacking. In Alpharetta it is how your bonus income gets read.
- Midtown AtlantaFulton County$465,000
- DecaturDeKalb County$585,000
- MariettaCobb County$425,000
- East PointFulton County$295,000
- AlpharettaFulton County$720,000
- StonecrestDeKalb County$315,000
Median sale prices shown are sample figures for illustration.
See every community we serve
Hablamos español
Todo el proceso en español, de principio a fin
Once de nuestros asesores cierran préstamos completamente en español, incluyendo la firma final con el abogado. Nadie en su familia tiene que servir de traductor.
- Documentos explicados línea por línea antes de firmar
- Programas de ayuda para el pago inicial, revisados en su idioma
- Taller mensual gratuito para compradores de primera vivienda
What 1,284 clients said
Sample reviews from across the metro, covering first purchases, refinances, VA files and equity lines.
4.9
4.9 out of 5 stars
Average of 1,284 client reviews (sample)
5 out of 5 stars
Todo el proceso fue en español, incluyendo la firma con el abogado. Marisol nos explicó cada documento dos veces y nunca nos sentimos apurados.
Hector y Lucía Ferrer
Chamblee · Conventional 5% down
5 out of 5 stars
We lost three houses on price before Magnolia pre-underwrote our file. The fourth offer had an approved letter attached and the listing agent called it the reason we won.
Devon Pritchard
Decatur · Conventional purchase
5 out of 5 stars
Aaron pulled my COE himself and found out I was exempt from the funding fee, which nobody at my last lender caught. That was a $9,800 difference.
Sgt. Malik Odom
Marietta · VA purchase, zero down
5 out of 5 stars
Thanh ran the break-even and told me to wait four months. She called me back when the timing worked. Who does that?
Brigitte Sauveur
Stonecrest · Rate and term refinance
5 out of 5 stars
Half my comp is restricted stock and the last two lenders could not make it work. Dev knew which investor would count it and we closed in 27 days.
Grant Okafor
Alpharetta · Jumbo, 10% down
5 out of 5 stars
Mi hija no tuvo que traducir nada. Por primera vez entendí completamente lo que estaba firmando.
Alma Restrepo
Norcross · FHA purchase
5 out of 5 stars
They talked me out of a cash-out refinance because my first mortgage rate was too good to give up. A HELOC cost me almost nothing to open.
Ibrahim Sesay
Tucker · HELOC
No reviews in that category yet.
Learning center
Plain-English writing about the parts of a mortgage that cost people money when nobody explains them.
Common questions
The six we are asked most
Twenty-four more are answered on the questions page, grouped by topic.
All questions and answersPre-qualified means we listened to what you told us and did the math. Pre-approved means we verified it: pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements and a credit pull, reviewed by an underwriter. In metro Atlanta's market, a pre-qualification letter is close to worthless in a multiple-offer situation. We issue full pre-approvals.
Less than you think. Conventional starts at 3%, FHA at 3.5%, and VA and USDA at zero. Georgia assistance programs can cover most or all of it for eligible buyers, which is why we screen every first-time buyer for assistance before anything else.
They are illustrative sample figures published to show relationships between programs, not an offer or a quote. Your actual rate depends on credit, loan size, down payment, property type, occupancy and the day you lock. Call us for a real quote, which takes about fifteen minutes.
Our median purchase closed in 19 days over the last twelve months (sample figure). Refinances run two to three weeks plus a mandatory three business day rescission period. USDA files add several days for the state office commitment.
It is real money, and a lot of it goes unclaimed in Georgia each year because the applications add work. Sample state and city programs range from $7,500 to $12,500 toward down payment and closing costs for eligible buyers.
Yes, completely. Eleven of our loan officers close files in Spanish, including the attorney walkthrough at the closing table. Our Spanish-language page explains the whole process, and Marisol Quintero leads that practice.
Magnolia Lending Group
Find out what you qualify for
Fifteen minutes on the phone with a loan officer, no credit pull and no obligation. Most people are surprised by the answer.
Free consultation. Sample rates and assistance amounts shown on this site are illustrations, not offers.