Mortgage Broker in Iowa
Licensed to lend across Iowa, Home Loans Inc shops your loan against 50+ wholesale lenders on one application, so the rate you get is competed for, not handed to you by a single bank. We close every Iowa loan type fully online, and we know the one thing every out-of-state lender gets wrong here: Iowa has no traditional title insurance, so your closing runs on an abstract, an attorney title opinion, and Iowa Title Guaranty instead.
One application, 50+ lenders competing for your Iowa loan
A bank can only offer you the one loan on its own shelf. As a licensed Iowa mortgage broker, Home Loans Inc does the opposite: we take a single application and shop it across a wholesale network of 50+ lenders, then bring you the file that fits your numbers best. That matters more than most Iowa buyers realize, because lenders layer their own credit overlays on top of the same Fannie, Freddie, FHA, VA, and USDA rules, so the identical borrower can be declined at one shop and approved at another on the same income and credit.
We work the whole state remotely. Whether you are buying in Des Moines, refinancing in Cedar Rapids, or financing an acreage outside Sioux City, the entire process runs online: application, document upload, e-signing, and a closing scheduled with a local Iowa closer. You do not have to sit in a branch, and you are not limited to whoever has a storefront in your town.
Founder Jason Sharon is a U.S. Navy veteran (former nuclear engineer) who has spent 8+ years originating loans, holds NMLS #1281448, and runs Home Loans Inc under company NMLS #1728740. The precision that ran a reactor runs your loan file.
Iowa has no title insurance, so your closing works differently here
This is the single biggest way an Iowa closing differs from the other 49 states, and it trips up out-of-state lenders constantly. Iowa is the only state that effectively bans the sale of traditional private title insurance. After several title insurers went bankrupt in the 1940s and left Iowans with worthless policies, the legislature shut the product out. So when you buy in Iowa, there is no national title insurer on your file. Here is what runs in its place, and how it changes your costs and your timeline.
The abstract of title
Instead of a title insurer, Iowa transactions use an abstract: the documented chain of ownership and every recorded claim against the property, pulled from public records. The seller is generally responsible for delivering a current, continued abstract, and that continuation has to be ordered early because it drives your closing date.
The attorney title opinion
A licensed Iowa attorney reviews the abstract and issues a title opinion stating whether the title is marketable and flagging any defects, liens, or easements. This attorney step is unique to how Iowa clears title. We coordinate it into your timeline so it does not become the surprise that delays your closing.
Iowa Title Guaranty (ITG)
A state program inside the Iowa Finance Authority issues the guaranty your lender requires in place of title insurance. For a residential transaction under $750,000 the ITG owner-and-lender coverage is a flat, low one-time charge, far below typical out-of-state title premiums, which is real money saved at your Iowa closing.
The practical takeaway: your Iowa closing costs are structured differently and the title piece is usually cheaper than what borrowers pay elsewhere, but the abstract continuation and the attorney opinion are sequential steps that have to start early. A lender who does this in Iowa every week builds those steps into the schedule from day one. A national call center bolts them on at the end and blows your closing date.
We shop 50+ lenders for buyers from the Quad Cities to Sioux City.
The full range of Iowa home loans we broker
Conventional loans
Fixed and adjustable conforming loans up to Iowa’s $832,750 limit, which is the same in every Iowa county. Strong fit for the state’s affordable median price, where many buyers land well under the limit with as little as 3% down.
Conventional loans →FHA loans
Lower-credit and lower-down-payment friendly, useful for first-time Iowa buyers in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids where competition is strongest. We compare FHA against conventional so you are not overpaying mortgage insurance.
FHA loans →VA loans
Zero down and no monthly mortgage insurance for eligible veterans and service members. Iowa veterans can stack the state Military Homeownership grant on top, which we line up alongside the VA benefit.
VA loans →USDA loans
Roughly 97% of Iowa’s land area is USDA-eligible, so zero-down rural financing covers most towns outside the metros. The single most underused program in the state, and we run it constantly.
USDA loans →First-time buyer
We pair you with Iowa Finance Authority FirstHome and Homes for Iowans down payment assistance, plus the Mortgage Credit Certificate, so your first Iowa home uses every dollar of help you qualify for.
First-time buyer →Refinance
Rate-and-term, cash-out, and streamline options across the same 50+ lenders. Because Iowa uses ITG rather than title insurance, your refinance title costs are typically lower than what borrowers see in other states.
Refinance →Iowa Finance Authority programs we layer onto your loan
Iowa runs some of the most generous first-time and repeat-buyer assistance in the Midwest through the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA). The catch is the rules: you cannot combine certain options, income and price limits apply, and you have to use a participating lender. We map the right combination to your file instead of leaving free money on the table.
FirstHome
For first-time buyers (and anyone buying in a designated targeted area): an affordable 30-year fixed mortgage with a down-payment-and-closing-cost grant to reduce your cash to close. Income and purchase-price limits apply and vary by county and household size.
Homes for Iowans
Open to first-time AND repeat buyers, with higher income and price limits. Choose a grant toward down payment and closing costs, or a second-loan option of up to 5% of the price. You cannot stack it with the FirstHome assistance, so we pick the stronger one for you.
Military Homeownership grant
An additional grant for eligible Iowa service members, veterans, and surviving spouses that can pair with FirstHome, Homes for Iowans, or even a non-IFA mortgage, and layer on top of a VA loan. We confirm eligibility and combine it correctly.
Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC)
A federal tax credit on a portion of the mortgage interest you pay each year, available through IFA to qualifying buyers. It improves your real after-tax cost of owning. We check whether an MCC beats a slightly lower rate for your situation.
The income and price limits
Every IFA program caps household income and purchase price, and the caps differ by county and household size. We pre-screen you against the current limits before you fall in love with a house that disqualifies the assistance.
Pairing with the loan type
IFA assistance rides on top of a FHA, VA, USDA, or conventional first mortgage. We choose the underlying loan and the assistance together, because the best combination depends on your credit, down payment, and the home’s location.
Iowa metros and rural markets, by financing reality
Iowa is two markets in one: a handful of growing metros where conventional and FHA dominate, and a vast rural balance where USDA quietly does the heavy lifting. After 8+ years originating loans, here is how the places Iowans actually buy break down for a real loan file, not a brochure map.
Des Moines metro (Polk, Dallas, Warren)
The state’s insurance and finance hub and its biggest relocation magnet. Strong job growth keeps suburbs like West Des Moines, Ankeny, and Waukee competitive, so a clean, fully shopped pre-approval is what wins offers here. Mostly conventional and FHA territory.
Cedar Rapids & Iowa City corridor
Cedar Rapids stays one of Iowa’s most affordable metros, a good fit for FHA and first-time IFA assistance. Iowa City runs pricier on University of Iowa demand, so we watch the conforming limit and structure jumbo when a purchase pushes past it.
Ames (Iowa State)
A university market with steady demand from staff and grad families. We see first-time buyers here pair an IFA grant with a conventional or FHA loan, and we time closings around the academic calendar that drives this market.
Quad Cities (Davenport, Bettendorf)
An affordable cross-river metro on the Mississippi. We finance on the Iowa side under Iowa’s ITG title system, which differs from how an Illinois closing across the bridge is handled, so the process is not the same on both banks.
Sioux City & western Iowa
Affordable pricing and quick access to USDA-eligible communities just outside the city. Many buyers here qualify for zero-down rural financing without realizing it, and we check eligibility by address before you assume you need a down payment.
Rural Iowa & acreages
Most of the state outside the metros is USDA-eligible. Acreages and farm-adjacent homes carry their own appraisal realities, outbuildings, well and septic, road frontage, and excess land that lenders treat carefully. We know which programs and lenders handle Iowa acreage cleanly.
Iowa is a judicial-foreclosure state with a redemption period
This is not scare material, it is a real reason Iowa borrowers have meaningful protection most states do not, and it is worth understanding before you sign anything. Iowa is a judicial-foreclosure state, which means a lender generally cannot take your home without going through the courts. The standard process also carries a one-year post-sale redemption period, a window during which a borrower may be able to redeem the property. The redemption period can be shortened in certain situations, for example if the lender waives a deficiency judgment or the home is abandoned.
Iowa law also allows an alternative nonjudicial voluntary route in specific cases, where a borrower can give up the property in exchange for the lender waiving a deficiency judgment, but it trades away the redemption right. The point for you as a borrower: Iowa’s system is borrower-protective by design, and we structure your loan and budget so foreclosure stays a worst-case you never approach. Knowing the rules up front is part of borrowing responsibly here.
Talk to a licensed Iowa mortgage broker
Home Loans Inc: Jason Sharon, Mortgage Broker
Licensed across Iowa · every loan closed online · IA Mortgage Broker License #1728740
Your Iowa loan, start to closing, fully online
1. Apply in minutes
One online application. We pull credit once and shop it across 50+ wholesale lenders, instead of you filling out a new form at every bank in town.
No branch visit2. Real-numbers pre-approval
We screen you against the right loan type and any IFA assistance limits, then issue a pre-approval that already accounts for your real cash to close at an Iowa closing.
Numbers that hold3. Order the abstract early
Once you are under contract, we coordinate the abstract continuation and the attorney title opinion up front, the Iowa-specific steps a national lender forgets, so your closing date holds.
Iowa-specific4. Close with a local closer
We drive the file through underwriting and schedule closing with a local Iowa closer and ITG coverage in place. You sign and get your keys.
We run the fileRated 5.0 by the families we serve.
Jason knows his stuff! We highly recommend him for your mortgage needs! He responds timely, provides information you didn't know you needed, puts the client needs first, and makes common sense adjustments throughout the entire process.
Jason and his team did an amazing job for me. They communicated often and made the entire mortgage process smooth and efficient. I can genuinely say that they are honest, trustworthy and strive to provide the best service possible to their clients.
Jason has been awesome since the beginning. He has been communicative, professional, KNOWLEDGEABLE, and honest. I am very happy with all my services so far, and I recommend UWM!
Why Iowa borrowers choose Home Loans Inc
Jason Sharon founded Home Loans Inc after serving as a nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy, a background that shows up as precision on every loan file. He holds NMLS #1281448 (company NMLS #1728740) and has spent 8+ years originating loans, with the licensing to lend throughout Iowa and the experience to handle what makes Iowa different: the abstract, the attorney title opinion, and Iowa Title Guaranty.
Because we are a broker and not a single bank, your Iowa file is competed across a wholesale lender network on one application. Clients have left 430+ reviews at a 5.0 rating, and we are BBB A+ accredited. You will work with a real broker who answers the phone, not a call center that forgets Iowa runs on abstracts.