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The right lender
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Cal checks the lenders on your bench, cited to the section, so the answer depends on the file, not the first call.

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Every answer carries its source.

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For the question you would
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[] calLender comparison / 01
An illustrative loan file

Her student-loan payment is $0.
Does every lender see it that way?

$48,000 student-loan balance$6,500 monthly income
Fannie Mae · B3-6-05Source 01

The documented $0 payment can count.

47.7%Debt-to-income ratio
3.7 points below FHA / LPA on this file
Read the source ↗
Same file. Different treatment.

Illustrative lenders. Guideline arithmetic, not an approval or AUS finding. Full file & assumptions ↗

The example, documentedSee the complete file and all three sources.

AskedWith her student loans on an income-driven plan at $0 a month, which programs should we investigate, and what evidence determines the counted payment?

Lender D can count her documented $0 payment.

Fannie Mae lets the lender count $0 when she is on an income-driven payment plan and student loan documentation verifies her actual monthly payment is $01. Counted at $0, her debt-to-income ratio is 47.7%.

Under the ordinary $0-payment treatment illustrated here, Freddie Mac and FHA count 0.5% of the outstanding balance instead when the credit report shows a $0 payment23. On her $48,000 balance that is $240 a month, and her debt-to-income ratio is 51.4%.

Her file: $6,500 gross monthly income · $2,650 housing payment · $450 other monthly debts · $48,000 in student loans.

Your bench, this file
LenderUnderwriting pathStudent-loan payment countedDTISource
Lender AYour first callFHAFHA$24051.4%3
Lender BConventional · LPAConventional · LPA$24051.4%2
Lender CFHAFHA$24051.4%3
Lender DNo files sent yetConventional · DUConventional · DU$047.7%1
Lender EConventional · LPAConventional · LPA$24051.4%2

Sourced · 3 citationsGuides retrieved 2026-09-26

Example. Lenders are anonymized and illustrative; the rules are quoted from the published guides as retrieved 2026-09-26, and each ratio is arithmetic on this file, not an AUS finding.

FEWER LAYERS · FASTER ANSWERS · CITED SOURCES
02 · What cal does

The files that stall, answered with the section.

Ask Cal the question you would normally bounce off three account executives. It answers from agency guides and the wholesale lenders on your panel, with the section and effective date on every line.

Crypto

Her down payment is sitting in Bitcoin.

Cal checks whether the funds count once they are converted, and what sourcing and seasoning the file needs before underwriting sees it.

Student loans

Her income-driven payment is $0. Does the DTI see $0?

Cal checks how Fannie, Freddie, FHA and VA each treat that payment, and where the lenders on your panel differ.

Departing residence

He is keeping the old house as a rental.

Cal checks whether projected rent can offset the old payment, the reserves it triggers, and the documents that prove it.

Buying for a parent

She is buying a home for her mom, who can't qualify alone.

Cal checks when the buyer can be treated as the owner-occupant, and what the file has to show to get that pricing.

Buying for a child

The parents want a condo near campus for their son.

Cal checks which occupancy the file really is, second home, investment or co-borrower, and what each does to the down payment.

Self-employed

One year of returns and a strong bank-statement story.

Cal checks the agency rules against the bank-statement programs your lenders actually offer, side by side.

And at 11:14pm on a Sunday, when she is too embarrassed to ask you what escrow is, your borrower gets a plain answer with sources. Cal is labeled as an assistant, and every rate, term and recommendation still comes from you.

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03 · An open record

Show your work.

Every answer carries its source. Every evaluation run goes on the record. Including the ones that tell us something needs fixing.

The library, right now
·chunks indexed
·Questions in latest eval
·DPA programs
·last ingest
As of ·
Open the status page ↗
Evaluation history

Accuracy is a record.
Every loss stays on it.

Each drop was worked until the score came back. That is how Cal gets better.

·
Loading evaluation runsPass rate on Cal’s evaluation set

Loading the public evaluation record…

Lines join consecutive runs. A pass rate is not a guarantee for an individual answer. Method and full history ↗

04 · Pricing

The price of one saved file. Per month.

Start with seven days of cited research and scenario tools. No credit card required. Subscribe to Core for $99 per loan officer per month to continue afterward.

trial
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  • Source and effective date on every answer
  • Your work carries over
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cal · one plan
$99/mo Core · monthly billing

Every tool, one price. For the independent originator who carries their own panel.

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  • Deal Saver, LE Compare, Options, Condo Check
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Pays for itself if it saves you two hours a month, or one stuck file a year.

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In the plan

One plan, every tool: the cited library, your lender panel, Options, and the borrower and realtor surfaces. Core is $99 per loan officer per month after a 7-day trial. The trial starts at your first verified sign-in without a credit card. A card is required only when you choose to subscribe. Existing price agreements remain protected under their terms. See what changed.

  • Cited guideline lookup across FNMA · FHLMC · FHA · VA · USDA
  • Suspense-to-CTC analysis · Deal Saver
  • DPA Finder · programs indexed with stacking + AMI rules
  • Borrower portal for your buyers · after-hours Q&A
  • Realtor surface for partner agents, free to them
  • Citations on every answer · §section + effective date
Cancel yourself any month from the billing page, no retention dance. Try Core for seven days with no card. Subscribing starts paid access and monthly billing immediately. Existing annual agreements retain their terms. Running an MLO network or an IMB? Talk to Chris about a custom agreement.
05 · Start your signup

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06 · Access

Two ways in.

For loan officers & brokerages

Run cal for your shop.

Start your trial, bring a file question, and explore the tools. Contact Chris for a product walkthrough or brokerage questions.

Book a demo → chris@askcal.io →
For investors

Read the synopsis.

Delaware C-corp. Book 15 minutes with Chris and he will walk you through the product, the numbers on the status page and the synopsis.

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07 · Built by an LO
Chris Black

Chris Black, founder. Originating since 2009 across IMB retail, consumer-direct and wholesale, including a decade as a Chairman's Elite producer at loanDepot. Retail lenders are buying captive AI for the LOs they employ. It stays behind when the LO leaves. Cal is the stack the independent channel keeps.

More about Chris and Cal →

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