Editorial Policy

Effective January 2025 · Last updated June 2026

Smart Mortgage Guide is committed to providing accurate, unbiased, and genuinely helpful mortgage education. This page describes how we create, review, update, and correct our content — and how we maintain editorial independence from our advertising revenue.

Our Editorial Mission

Our mission is to help American homebuyers understand one of the most consequential financial decisions of their lives. The mortgage process is complex, expensive, and often opaque. We believe informed borrowers make better decisions — and that clear, honest information should be freely available to everyone, not just those who can afford to hire advisors.

Who Creates Our Content

All substantive content on Smart Mortgage Guide is created by qualified professionals. Our editorial team includes:

• Sarah Mitchell, CFP® — Certified Financial Planner with 12 years of consumer mortgage experience. Authors all FHA, VA, first-time buyer, credit, and qualification content.
• James Holloway — Financial journalist with 15 years covering mortgage markets, rate trends, and housing finance policy. Authors all rate pages, refinance guides, and market analysis.
• Diana Reyes — HUD-approved housing counselor specializing in state programs. Authors all 50 state mortgage guides and down payment assistance content.
• Marcus Thompson — Financial technology professional. Authors all calculator educational content and ensures mathematical accuracy of our tools.

See full team bios at our team page.

Content Standards

Accuracy

All factual claims in our guides are verified against primary sources before publication. We do not publish claims we cannot verify. Primary sources we use include:

• Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly mortgage rate data
• HUD.gov — FHA loan limits, program requirements, housing data
• Benefits.VA.gov — VA loan eligibility, funding fee schedules, program requirements
• RD.USDA.gov — USDA Rural Development eligibility maps and program requirements
• FannieMae.com — conforming loan limits, underwriting guidelines, housing outlook
• FreddieMac.com — housing market data, mortgage market research
• CFPB.gov — consumer protection regulations, mortgage disclosure requirements
• FederalReserve.gov — monetary policy, economic indicators

Expertise

We match topic expertise to author credentials. Mortgage qualification guides are written by our CFP®-credentialed analyst with direct lending experience. Rate analysis is written by our market journalist who monitors the PMMS weekly. State-specific content is written by our HUD-certified counselor with 50-state program knowledge. Generalist writers do not author substantive mortgage guidance on this site.

Timeliness

Mortgage information changes frequently. Our update schedule:

• Rate data: Updated within 24 hours of the weekly Freddie Mac PMMS release (every Thursday)
• Loan limits: Updated annually when FHFA announces conforming loan limit changes (typically November)
• State program data: Reviewed quarterly; updated whenever HFA programs change
• Educational guides: Reviewed annually at minimum; updated when regulations or guidelines change

Transparency

Every article on Smart Mortgage Guide displays the author's name, credentials, and the date the content was last reviewed. When we cite a statistic or data point, we attribute the source. When information is our authors' professional judgment rather than a verifiable fact, we indicate this with language like "we recommend" or "in our opinion."

Fact-Checking Process

1. Author drafts content based on primary source research
2. Author self-checks all numerical claims against source documents
3. A second team member reviews for accuracy before publication
4. Calculator mathematical outputs are tested against standard industry formulas
5. Legal page content (privacy, terms) is reviewed for compliance with applicable laws

Editorial Independence

Smart Mortgage Guide earns revenue through display advertising (Google AdSense). Our editorial content is completely independent of our advertising revenue. Advertisers do not influence, review, or have any input into our editorial content. We do not accept payment to include, exclude, or favorably describe any lender, product, or program.

When we recommend loan programs, those recommendations reflect our team's honest assessment of which programs best serve borrowers in typical situations. We apply the same critical analysis to every program regardless of who funds it.

What We Are Not

Smart Mortgage Guide is an educational resource, not a mortgage lender, broker, or financial advisor. Our content does not constitute financial, legal, or mortgage advice for your specific situation. Always consult a licensed mortgage professional before making borrowing decisions. We are not compensated for referring borrowers to any lender.

Corrections Policy

We take errors seriously. If you find a factual error in our content:

• Email us at admin@smart-mortgage-guide.online with the page URL and the specific error
• We will review within 48 business hours
• Confirmed errors are corrected promptly and the page's "last updated" date is revised
• Significant corrections may include a note at the bottom of the article

Advertising Disclosure

This site displays ads served by Google AdSense. These are determined by Google's algorithms based on page content and reader data, not by us. We do not control which specific ads appear. Advertising revenue supports the operation of this free educational resource. For more information, see our How We Make Money page.

Contact

Editorial inquiries, corrections, and feedback: admin@smart-mortgage-guide.online

Response time: 1–2 business days for corrections, 3–5 business days for general inquiries.