Frequently Asked Questions

Cozy Home Loans powered by Barrett Financial Group is a service-based mortgage brokerage focused on education first and lending second.

Whether you're purchasing your first home, upgrading, refinancing, investing, building a home, or exploring your home equity, we're here to help you understand your options and create a mortgage strategy that fits your goals.

As an independent mortgage broker, we work with multiple lending partners to help find competitive loan solutions for your unique situation.

Most importantly, there is never any obligation to work with us.

Many people simply want honest answers, a second opinion, or guidance on what steps to take next—and we're happy to provide that. 

If we earn your trust along the way, we'd be honored to help you finance your home.

Our e-books, guides, and workbooks are created to help you make confident financial decisions—not just today, but throughout your homeownership journey.

By creating a free account, you'll gain access to our growing Cozy Resource Library filled with educational guides, checklists, calculators, and future updates. It also allows us to occasionally send helpful mortgage tips, market updates, and new resources that we believe you'll genuinely find valuable.

Your information is never sold, and you'll never be pressured into working with us. 

Our goal is simply to create a cozy place where you can learn, grow, and feel supported whenever you're ready.

Every pre-approval is carefully reviewed by a real person—not generated by an automated system.

Our goal isn't to hand you a quick letter that may need to be changed later. Instead, we take the time to review your income, assets, employment, and supporting documentation to ensure everything is accurate before issuing your pre-approval.

Because of this thoughtful process, our pre-approvals may take a little longer than some online lenders—but that extra care helps create a smoother experience when it's time to make an offer on your dream home.

The more complete your application and uploaded documents are, the faster we can complete your review. 

Our commitment is to provide you with an honest, accurate, and seamless experience from the very beginning.

Not right away.

At Cozy Home Loans, we believe you deserve to understand your application before a hard credit inquiry is completed.

We'll first ask you to complete your application and upload your supporting documents. Once we've reviewed everything together and answered any questions you may have, we'll discuss the next step of obtaining your credit report.

When you're ready to move forward with your pre-approval, we'll provide you with a secure payment portal to cover the cost of your credit report. Once payment has been received, we'll obtain a full credit report and complete the final review of your application.

Because your credit history is an important part of the mortgage approval process, we cannot guarantee that a pre-approval can be issued without reviewing a full credit report. Our goal is to provide you with an honest and accurate pre-approval that gives you confidence when it's time to make an offer on a home.

At Cozy Home Loans, we believe communication should always come before surprises. We'll walk alongside you through every step, explain what to expect, and make sure you feel informed, comfortable, and confident throughout the process.

Absolutely.

A pre-approval isn't just about receiving a "yes"—it's about understanding where you are today and creating a plan for where you want to be tomorrow.

If you're not able to qualify right now, we'll take the time to explain why in clear, easy-to-understand terms. Together, we'll review the factors that may be affecting your approval and discuss practical steps you can take to strengthen your financial profile.

Depending on your situation, that may include improving your credit score, reducing debt, increasing your savings, documenting additional income, or simply allowing more time for employment or financial history to mature.

Our goal is never to leave you wondering what comes next. Instead, we'll work with you to create a personalized roadmap toward homeownership and help you understand the milestones that will bring you closer to becoming pre-approved.

At Cozy Home Loans, we believe homeownership is a journey—not a race. Whether you're ready today, six months from now, or even a year down the road, we're here to answer your questions, cheer you on, and help you move forward with confidence. And remember, there is never any obligation to work with us. We're always happy to provide honest guidance and support whenever you need it.