Get Qualified by Harry · Mortgage help for Nevada and California

You bring the goal. I’ll help narrow the mortgage options.

Buying a home can feel like learning a new language while making one of the biggest decisions of your life. You do not need to arrive knowing the loan name. Start with what you want to do, what feels comfortable, and how your income works.

Help me choose my next step Show me how buying works

Steven “Harry” Protopappas · Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS #2543750 · NEXA Mortgage, LLC · NMLS #1660690 · Licensed in NV & CA

Illustrative photography. The people shown are not my clients.

Start with your situation

What are you trying to do?

Pick the closest starting point. It is fine if two apply. I’ll help separate the useful options from the ones that only add noise.

Buy a home

Understand a comfortable budget, get ready to shop, make an offer, and reach closing.

Buy when your income is not a regular paycheck

See how business income, bank statements, contract work, savings, or several income sources may be reviewed.

Finance a rental property

Compare the expected rent, monthly payment, upfront cash, and your plan for the property.

Use existing equity

Compare a HELOC, cash-out refinance, or another structure before moving forward.

A local reason for doing this

Back in Reno and putting down roots

After a decade working as a flight attendant, I recently moved back to Reno with my wife to start our family and build our life here.

Buying a home changed the direction of my life. It gave me stability, led me into real estate investing, and helped me build more financial freedom. That experience is why I want to make the process easier to understand for other people in this community.

You do not need to figure out the right loan before we talk. Tell me where you are and what you hope to accomplish. I will explain what matters next.

Why I became a loan officer →

Illustrative view of an established Reno neighborhood near the Sierra foothills — Illustrative Reno-area photography.

The whole process, one step at a time

I’ll help you take care of the next step

You do not have to manage the whole purchase at once. Here is the path, in plain English.

Decide what feels affordable

I’ll walk through the estimated payment, taxes, insurance, upfront costs, and the money you want left after closing.

See what you’re ready for

I’ll review how you are paid, your monthly bills, credit, savings, and the paperwork a lender may need.

Shop with numbers you understand

Know your estimated payment and upfront costs before you fall in love with a home or write an offer.

Offer, underwrite, close

I coordinate the financing questions while your agent handles the real estate side.

See the full homebuying process

Illustrative view of first-time buyers reviewing a home budget together — Illustrative photography. No real borrower information is shown.

Useful before you are ready to apply

Do the homework without getting buried

Estimate a payment, check rate context, gather documents, compare renting and buying, or run an investment-property scenario. Each tool explains what the result includes and what it leaves out.

Use the free tools Read the guides →

Where I help buyers

Mortgage help across Northern Nevada and Lake Tahoe

I live in Reno and work with buyers, homeowners, and investors from the Truckee Meadows down through the Carson Valley and up to the lake. Each area raises its own questions.

Washoe County

Reno, Sparks & Spanish Springs

First homes, move-up purchases, refinances, and small rentals. I’ll walk through the payment, the upfront cash, and which loan programs are worth comparing for the neighborhood you’re shopping.

Carson City & Carson Valley

Carson City, Dayton, Minden & Gardnerville

I graduated high school in Carson City, so this stretch of Northern Nevada is home ground. Some addresses outside the town centers are worth checking for USDA eligibility, and acreage or older homes can change the appraisal and insurance questions.

Lake Tahoe

Incline Village & Stateline

Second homes, higher-priced purchases that can cross into jumbo territory, and rental plans that depend on county short-term rental permits. Stateline sits right on the California line, and I’m licensed on both sides.

Tell me where you’re looking

What you can verify

Real experience. Clear limits. No invented proof.

I’m a Reno-based real estate investor and licensed mortgage loan originator. I manage five short-term rentals and have personally worked with W-2, 1099, and self-employed income.

Trust has to come from work you can verify: useful education, active licensing, clear estimates, and an honest explanation of what is known and what still needs to be confirmed.

Verify Harry’s NMLS record

You do not need to be application-ready

A first conversation can be as simple as: “Here is what I am considering. What should I figure out first?”

Talk with Harry

The first conversation is for planning. It is not a loan approval or commitment to lend.

Mortgage guidance: Steven “Harry” Protopappas, Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS #2543750, licensed in Nevada and California, with NEXA Mortgage, LLC, NMLS #1660690. Equal Housing Lender. Updated October 12, 2026. Program availability and lender requirements can change; current details must be checked for the actual borrower and property.