San Gabriel Valley · Southern California · Licensed statewide
Most people shop for a rate. You should be shopping for the math.
I'm Derek Shao. For twenty years I've placed home loans across California — and the difference between a good outcome and an expensive one is almost never the headline rate. It's the structure underneath it.
Figures drawn from Emory Financial's own closed-loan records, 2011–present. Past results don't guarantee future terms.
Where to start
Three conversations I have every week
Pick the one that sounds like you. Each one starts the same way — a real conversation about what you're trying to do, before anyone pulls credit.
Purchase
First home, move-up, or a second property. We build a pre-approval strong enough that listing agents take your offer seriously — and we do it before you fall in love with a house.
See purchase programs → Lowering a paymentRefinance
Rate-and-term, dropping mortgage insurance, or getting out of an adjustable. The honest answer is sometimes "not yet" — and I'll tell you that.
See refinance options → Using equityCash-out & HELOC
Renovations, tuition, consolidating higher-interest debt, or buying the next property. We'll compare a cash-out against a second lien so you keep the low first rate you already have.
See equity options →Who you'll actually work with
The same person from the first call to the last signature.
Twenty years in, I still take every file myself. When you call, I answer — no call centre, no handoff to a processor you've never met, no voicemail that gets returned in two business days while your escrow clock runs.
Being independent means I'm not selling one bank's shelf. I shop the wholesale market across many lenders, compare the real pricing side by side, and place your loan where it genuinely fits. When one lender's guidelines don't work for your situation, I move the file — rather than telling you no.
That's most of the business, honestly: people I've worked with before coming back for a second or third loan, and sending their families and colleagues along behind them.
“I've gone through two escrows with Emory Financial and both went without any problems. Before my first escrow I'd heard so many nightmares about how hands-on it all was. With Derek, everything couldn't have gone smoother.”
Run the numbers
What would the payment be?
A real payment estimate — principal, interest, taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance — not just principal and interest like most calculators show you.
Estimated monthly payment
Illustrative onlyUse a rate you've been quoted — I'll give you a real one.
Most of Los Angeles and Orange County runs 1.1–1.3% including local assessments.
- Principal & interest
- $0
- Property taxes
- $0
- Homeowner's insurance
- $0
- Mortgage insurance
- —
- HOA dues
- $0
- Loan amount
- $0
- Cash down
- $0
Estimate only. Figures are for planning and are not a quote, a rate lock, or a commitment to lend. Mortgage insurance is approximated at 0.5% annually when the loan exceeds 80% of value; actual pricing varies with credit, coverage and program. Your real numbers come from a lender's Loan Estimate.
The process
Five steps, no surprises
The mortgage process has a reputation for being opaque. It isn't — it's just badly explained. Here's the whole thing, start to finish.
Talk it through
Fifteen minutes on the phone. What you're buying or refinancing, the timeline, what the money looks like. No credit pull yet.
Get pre-approved
Application, credit, income and assets. You get a letter that holds up when you're competing against other offers.
Shop the market
Your file goes to multiple wholesale lenders. You see the pricing compared side by side — not just the winner.
Lock and underwrite
Rate locked, appraisal ordered, file submitted. Most clear conditions inside a week, and you won't have to chase me.
Sign and fund
Documents, signing, funding, recording. Then I stay in touch, because rates move and your loan deserves revisiting.
Ask Derek Anything
The questions people are almost embarrassed to ask
These are the ones that come up over and over — on the phone, in escrow, and in the comments on my TikTok. There are no dumb mortgage questions. There are only expensive assumptions.
On TikTok
@emory.financial
Short, plain-English answers to real mortgage questions — a new one every week. If you've got a question you'd like answered on camera, send it over.
What's the difference between a bank loan and a broker loan?
A bank sells you its own products at retail. A mortgage broker works the wholesale channel — I compare pricing across many lenders and bring you the best fit.
I like to compare it to shopping at Costco instead of a corner supermarket. Wholesale moves far more volume, so the pricing is usually better, and if one lender's guidelines don't fit your situation, I just move the file to one whose guidelines do. A bank can't do that.
What is PMI, and how do I get rid of it?
PMI is private mortgage insurance. It applies when you put down less than 20%, and it protects the lender — not you — if the loan defaults.
Once you've built 20% equity you can request that it be removed. There are also structures that avoid it entirely, like lender-paid mortgage insurance or a piggyback second. Which one wins depends on how long you plan to hold the loan, and that's a five-minute conversation.
Can I get a mortgage if I'm self-employed?
Absolutely — a large share of my clients are. Most lenders will want two years of tax returns to document income, and a current profit-and-loss statement can support it.
If your returns show a lot of write-offs, conventional guidelines may not tell your real story. That's where bank statement and asset-depletion programs come in. Bring me the returns and I'll tell you honestly which door is the right one.
I co-signed for a family member. Does that hurt me?
It can, but it's fixable. To exclude that other property's payment from your debt ratio, we document 12 months of payments made by the other party — cancelled checks or bank statements showing the money left their account.
Without that documentation, you have to qualify carrying both housing payments. This comes up constantly in multigenerational households, so start gathering the statements early.
Are there hidden fees?
No. Every fee is disclosed up front, in writing, on your Loan Estimate — that's federal law, and it's also just how I prefer to work.
If you choose a lender-credit ("no-cost") structure, the non-recurring closing costs are credited back to you. Pre-paid items — interest between loans, property taxes, insurance and HOA dues — are separate and aren't included in that.
Is there a prepayment penalty?
Not on the loans I place. You can pay extra, pay it off, or refinance whenever you want.
One exception worth knowing: if you take a lender-credit structure, there's typically a disclosure asking you to keep the loan at least 180 days before refinancing again. Refinance sooner and those credited costs get repaid to the broker.
In their words
Two escrows, three refinances, one phone number
Derek worked on my home loans and exceeded my expectations. Very competitive rates, and he delivered exactly what he promised — got the loan done on time, before my escrow deadline.
This is my first review for Derek, but it isn't the first time he's helped us. He worked with us on two previous refinances and it saved us a great deal of money.
Most of my loans each year go to someone I've already worked with, or someone they sent. That's the number I actually pay attention to.
Client comments shared with permission. Individual results vary; past outcomes don't guarantee future terms.
Where I lend
A California licence, and the track record to go with it.
Roots in the San Gabriel Valley, but a third of my business sits outside it. If you're in Irvine, Corona or Carlsbad, you're not getting a broker who only knows one zip code.
Plus 115 more loans across the Santa Clarita Valley, the high desert, and Northern and Central California — 192 California cities in total. Wherever the property sits in this state, the licence travels with it.
Next step
Start with a conversation, not an application.
Fifteen minutes, no credit pull, no obligation. Tell me what you're trying to do and I'll tell you honestly whether I can help.