BUY, DON'T RENT
The Homebuying Guide for Creators, Influencers & the Self-Employed
Your income may be unconventional. Your path to homeownership doesn’t have to be.
Explore mortgage options that may work with self-employed income and learn how to prepare for buying with confidence.
Understand Your Options
Learn how self-employed income may be evaluated and explore alternative mortgage programs.
Get Mortgage Ready
Know what documents to organize, what lenders may look for, and how to prepare financially.
Build Your Buying Plan
Use the included checklist and homeownership timeline to turn “someday” into a strategy.
What You'll Learn Inside
A straightforward guide to understanding your options and preparing for homeownership when your income doesn’t fit neatly into a traditional W-2.
✓ Mortgage Options for Self-Employed Buyers
Explore bank-statement, alternative-documentation, asset-based, and other potential loan options.
✓ How to Get Mortgage-Ready
Learn what lenders may look for—from income documentation and credit to down payment and cash reserves.
✓ Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Approval
Understand financial moves that can complicate the mortgage process and how to prepare before applying.
✓ How to Create Your Buying Plan
Use the included Mortgage-Ready Checklist and Homeownership Timeline to turn “someday” into actionable next steps.
MEET REFILOE
I’m Refiloe Matemotja (pronounced re-feel-way), a Los Angeles Realtor with more than a decade of real estate experience.
I created Buy, Don’t Rent after seeing how often successful creators, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and self-employed professionals assume homeownership isn’t an option simply because their income doesn’t fit neatly into a traditional W-2.
My goal is simple: to help you understand your options, prepare strategically, and make confident decisions about what comes next.
Real estate. Real guidance. Real relationships.
Refiloe Matemotja
CA Realtor® | DRE #01983307
She Sells LA