Buy the house on base pay.Keep the overtime.

Every new officer hears it from somebody who’s been around: buy the house on base pay, not overtime.

They’re right. A new class comes out of the academy, people come back from workers’ comp, somebody transfers in, and the overtime dries up. The house payment doesn’t.

“I’ve seen a few COs, which the mortgage company will do, calculate off your annual income, which can include a lot of overtime, and then suddenly it dries up.”

Here’s how lenders see it. Most won’t count overtime until you’ve had about two years of it, so at first you’re approved on base pay. After that, the overtime starts to count and the pre-approval grows with it. That’s when the house that needs the overtime shows up.

Here’s what base pay alone gets a new officer approved for here:

None of that takes $200,000 in the bank or 25% down. FHA loans start at 3.5% down, and VA loans, the law-enforcement credit-union loans and USDA loans in the valley’s rural areas can mean nothing down.

Approved isn’t the same as easy. Easy is closer to 31% of base pay: for a new deputy, a house around $260,000. Your plan shows both numbers, and you pick.

What yours buys, and where, near where you work, depends on the street’s taxes, your down payment, what else you owe and whether you buy with someone. That’s your base-pay number.

So before you talk to a lender, I’ll work it out for you by text. If the numbers say wait, the plan says wait. I don’t push, and nobody picks your lender for you.

Approved for: a house payment of 45% of base pay (the debt limit on LAPFCU’s Heroes loan) with no other debts, on an FHA loan with 3.5% down at 7.24% (Freddie Mac, week of October 29, 2026), property tax at 1.25%, $150 a month for insurance, mortgage insurance in, rounded to $5,000. Base pay: each agency’s 2026 pay schedule; the CHP and CDCR figures include the state’s PLP 2025 pay cut (4.62% and 3%) through June 30, 2027.

Law-enforcement home loans and programs: what’s real here

Everybody’s got a deal for “heroes.” Here’s what each one is worth to an officer buying in the Antelope Valley or Santa Clarita, checked October 30, 2026:

• Law-enforcement credit-union loans. Zero down and no mortgage insurance. LAPFCU’s Heroes Home Loan wants a first-time buyer, a 700 credit score and debts under 45% of income. POPA’s wants two years at your current agency, so new officers can’t use it yet. Neither page says which of your pay they count.
• FHA, VA and USDA. FHA: 3.5% down. VA: nothing down if you served. USDA: nothing down in eligible rural areas, under its income limits. Parts of the valley qualify; it goes by address.
• CalHFA MyHome. Up to 3.5% of the price as a deferred loan, for first-time buyers under CalHFA’s income limit.
• GSFA Platinum. Down-payment help: 3.5% of the price as a second loan you pay monthly, plus up to 1.5% as a gift. Its Select version names correctional officers.
• California Dream For All. Applications closed March 16, 2026. CalHFA handed out this round’s vouchers in May and keeps a waitlist.
• LA County’s Home Ownership Program. Up to $100,000 or 20% of the price, whichever is less, first come, first served through its lenders. Not for a house inside Lancaster, Palmdale or Santa Clarita; unincorporated areas like Quartz Hill and Acton qualify.
• City programs. Palmdale’s down-payment program is closed to new applications. Lancaster’s held a lottery on October 8, 2026, and is reviewing applications in lottery order.
• CalHERO. A loan program for public-service workers, law enforcement and correctional officers included. It can’t be combined with state down-payment help, and its rebate comes only through a CalHERO agent.
• Homes for Heroes. A rebate after closing: 0.7% of the price, about $700 per $100,000, through its own agents and lenders. No money for the down payment.
• HUD’s Good Neighbor Next Door. Half off HUD-owned homes in designated areas, if you live there 36 months. On October 30, 2026, HUD listed none in Lancaster, Palmdale, Quartz Hill, Acton, Rosamond, Castaic or Santa Clarita.
• Builder credits. D.R. Horton takes up to $1,500 off closing costs for law enforcement on 2026 contracts; Pacific Communities gives $5,000 toward options. Read what each one can’t be combined with.

Correctional officers: most of these include you. GSFA Platinum’s Select version names you outright, and so do Homes for Heroes and CalHERO.

Every one of these helps with money in. None of them tells you what payment you can carry without the overtime. That’s your base-pay number.

Nobody hears about your house from me

Not your number, not your address, not your plans. I don’t post about you or your purchase, ever: no “just sold,” no photos with you in them. Before you sign, I’ll show you what a purchase puts on the public record, so nothing surprises you.

Straight answers

Does overtime count as income for a mortgage?

Usually not until you’ve had about two years of it. Fannie Mae, FHA and VA all look for about a two-year history, and one year at the least, with conditions. Until then, lenders count base pay.

Can I buy a house while I’m still on probation?

Fannie Mae’s and FHA’s income rules, and VA’s income regulation, don’t mention probation. They look at two years of work or school history, and whether the pay will keep coming. Some lenders add their own rules, and some officers will tell you to wait until probation’s done. Your plan puts your probation date next to the purchase so you can decide.

How much house can I afford on base pay?

Many lenders cap your debts, the house payment included, at about 45% of your pay before taxes; LAPFCU’s Heroes loan does. For a new LASD deputy with no other debts, that’s a house around $385,000 with 3.5% down at 7.24%. Easy is closer to 31% of base pay: about $260,000. What yours buys depends on your debts, the street’s taxes and your down payment. That’s the base-pay number I’ll work out for you.

Do police officers get a discount on a home loan?

Some credit unions for law enforcement offer zero-down loans with no mortgage insurance. Homes for Heroes pays a rebate after closing. Builders offer credits. None of them sizes the payment for you.

Is Homes for Heroes legit?

It’s a real company. It pays a rebate after closing, 0.7% of the price (about $700 per $100,000), when you buy through its own agents and lenders. It doesn’t give money for the down payment.

Are there Good Neighbor Next Door homes in the Antelope Valley?

Not right now. On October 30, 2026, HUD listed none in Lancaster, Palmdale, Quartz Hill, Acton, Rosamond, Castaic or Santa Clarita. The program sells HUD-owned homes at half price in designated areas to law enforcement officers, teachers, firefighters and EMTs who live in them for 36 months.

Do correctional officers qualify for these programs?

For most of them, yes. GSFA Platinum’s Select version names correctional officers outright, and so do Homes for Heroes and CalHERO. FHA and VA don’t go by your job at all.

What’s in it for you?

If you buy with me, I’m paid at closing. How, and how much, goes in writing before we look at a single house. If you don’t buy, you keep the plan.