Imagine you've owned your California home for 20, 30 or even 40 years. You bought it when prices were dramatically lower. Over the decades, the home's value climbed — perhaps to $1 million, $1.5 million or considerably more. But thanks to California's Proposition 13, your property's taxable value may still be far below its current market value. Now you want to move. Maybe you want to downsize. Maybe you want to leave the Bay Area for a less expensive part of Califor

Buying a home in Petaluma can put you into jumbo-loan territory faster than you might expect. For 2026, the conforming loan limit for a one-unit property in Sonoma County is $897,000. That means a conventional first mortgage above $897,000 generally falls outside standard conforming limits and may require jumbo financing or another loan structure. But here's the important part: jumbo does not necessarily mean difficult, and it does not automatically mean a worse mortgage.

If you're buying your first home in Sonoma County, one of the first decisions you'll probably face is whether to use an FHA loan or a conventional loan. The short answer: neither one is automatically better. FHA can be a great fit when your down payment is limited, your credit profile needs some flexibility, or your debt-to-income ratio makes conventional financing difficult. Conventional financing can be the better choice when your credit is stronger, you qualify for a 3% or