About Carrington Mortgage Services
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Carrington Mortgage Services (NMLS #2600) is a full-service mortgage lender that provides various loan options to a wide range of borrowers. The company was founded in 2007 and has since served over 1.4 million customers. It offers a digital loan servicing experience through its online loan portal and mobile app.
Overall Satisfaction Rating
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Pros
- Check rates online
- Flexible loan qualifications
- Personalized online dashboard for account management
Cons
- No in-person branches
- No phone support on weekends
Bottom Line
Carrington Mortgage Services offers a broad selection of home loans, including conventional, FHA, VA and USDA loans. Nearly all of its loan types allow flexible qualifications, with some permitting credit scores as low as 500. CMS is available to borrowers in 48 states.
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John was assigned as my loan officer after a difficult and challenging three months trying to refinance my loan. John was familiar with the unconventional loan/deed issues that we...
Read full reviewCarrington helped me to purchase my current home. Being a widow with a young child made homebuying a hard process. Carrington helped walk me through the process and directed me to...
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You can check rates for purchase loans on Carrington Mortgage Services’ website. From the home page, click “Purchase” and select that you’re not an existing customer. Once you answer questions about the home's purchase price, the property's ZIP code, your down payment amount, your income and your credit score, Carrington shows you loans you may qualify for along with interest rates and annual percentage rates (APRs).
CMS offers both fixed- and adjustable-rate loans. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) have an introductory fixed-rate period that typically lasts five, seven or 10 years before the rate changes on a regular basis. An ARM could be a good choice if you want a lower rate to start or plan to either refinance or sell your home before the rate adjusts.
According to data provided under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Carrington’s average home purchase rate from 2019 to 2021 was slightly higher than the national average. In 2021, its average home purchase rate was 0.75% higher than the national average.
Carrington Mortgage Services average home purchase rate vs. national average
| Year | Difference from national average |
|---|---|
| 2021 | +0.75% |
| 2020 | +0.68% |
| 2019 | +0.74% |
Application process
You can start the application process with Carrington Mortgage Services online by calling to speak with a loan officer. Be ready to answer questions about your income, assets and debts; the company uses this information to pre-qualify you for a loan.
During the application process, you’ll need to submit specific financial documents, such as W-2s, pay stubs, bank statements and previous years’ tax returns, to your loan officer.
Rosanne, a ConsumerAffairs reviewer from Hazlet, New Jersey, said of working with Carrington Mortgage Services:
"I can't say enough about my dealings with Ben, my loan specialist at Carrington Mortgage. … Ben is pleasant, knowledgeable, caring, and excellent with communication. He is easy to speak with and takes the time to explain every detail of the process and answer any questions you may have. My loan processor, Tiffany, was also excellent at keeping me informed as it came time to close. She responded to my emails immediately, which is not something you often find."
Carrington Mortgage Services application features
| Features | Availability |
|---|---|
| Online application | |
| Mobile document upload | |
| Physical branches | Six states |
| Publishes minimum rate on website | |
| Rate lock | 15 to 60 days |
| Pre-qualification (no hard credit pull) | |
| Certified approval letter |
Loan types
Carrington Mortgage Services offers a variety of loan products, including:
- Conventional loans
- FHA loans
- VA loans
- USDA loans
The company also offers a loan option called Carrington Flexible Advantage, which it says is ideal for those with low credit scores or high debt-to-income ratios, those who are self-employed or don’t track income traditionally, or those with a recent credit event, like a foreclosure or bankruptcy.
Carrington also has a Flexible Advantage Plus loan for those who have lower credit scores but are current on their debts, and a Prime Advantage loan for those with a credit score of at least 660 who don’t qualify for a conventional or government-backed mortgage.
Fixed-rate loans come in 15-year or 30-year terms. ARMs are available as 5/1, 7/1 or 10/1 loans. (A 5/1 ARM means the borrower will have a fixed interest rate for five years, then the interest rate will adjust every year after.)
In 2021, CMS reported 11,272 home purchase applications; it closed on 6,243 home purchase loans (55%). About 12% of these home purchase applications were denied.
Loan applications for home purchases only by year
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase applications | 11,272 | 17,227 | 13,445 |
| Home purchase loans closed | 6,243 | 9,078 | 6,904 |
| Home purchase applications denied | 1,388 | 2,172 | 1,941 |
| Home purchase preapprovals denied | 0 | 36 | 125 |
Refinancing
You can refinance with Carrington to pull cash out of your home's equity or change your rate or term. The company offers both conventional and government-backed refinance loans.
The majority of the mortgages Carrington Mortgage Services originated from 2019 to 2021 were for refinancing. In 2021, about 83% were for rate-and-term refinances and cash-out refinances combined. Only about 17% of its loans in 2021 were for home purchases.
Home purchase vs. refinance loans by year
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase loans | 16.78% | 24.35% | 20.05% |
| Refinance loans | 44.04% | 48.50% | 45.66% |
| Cash-out refinance | 39.19% | 27.15% | 34.29% |
Requirements
Carrington Mortgage Services provides general borrower requirements by loan type. For conventional loans, Carrington requires a credit score of at least 620 and a down payment of 20% or more. It does offer Home Possible loans that require as little as 3% down.
If you’re applying for an FHA or VA loan with Carrington, you need a credit score of at least 500. FHA loans require as little as 3.5% down, while the other government-backed loans don’t require money down.
Carrington’s Advantage loans permit credit scores down to 550 and allow you to qualify even with negative credit events.
National mortgage requirements by type
| Min. credit score | Min. down payment | Compare with other lenders | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional | Typically 620 | Typically 3% | Mortgage lenders |
| FHA | 500 | 3.5% with 580 credit score | FHA lenders |
| VA | Set by lender (often 580) | 0% | VA lenders |
| USDA | Set by lender (often 640) | 0% | USDA lenders |
Cost and fees
Carrington Mortgage Services discloses some, but not all, fees online. Many of the fees you pay for your loan depend on the loan type, the loan amount, your down payment amount, where the property is located and other factors.
You’ll receive an estimate of closing costs and other fees after you apply for a loan from Carrington, but you can also ask a loan officer at the time you apply. At least three days before the closing, CMS will give you a finalized list of closing costs in a document called a Closing Disclosure.
FAQ
How does Carrington Mortgage Services work?
Carrington Mortgage Services offers purchase and refinance loans to customers across the U.S. To apply for a mortgage, you can start online or call the company. A loan officer works with you to determine your needs and guide you through the process, from pre-qualification through closing. After your loan closes, you can use the online dashboard to verify loan details, see account activity and make payments.
Is Carrington Mortgage Services legit?
Carrington Mortgage Services is a legitimate mortgage lender that’s been in business since 2007. The company offers a number of home purchase and refinancing options for borrowers throughout most of the U.S.
Where is Carrington Mortgage Services available?
Carrington Mortgage Services is available in all states except Massachusetts and North Dakota. The company has branch locations in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana and Maryland.
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We submitted our application for assistance and were unsure if it had been received and if anything else was needed. I contacted Carrington Mortgage and spoke with Lynn. She was accommodating and informative. There were some additional documents required and she explained this request thoroughly. We resubmitted the application for assistance and Lynn responded with a follow-up. She has excellent customer service skills and is always professional in her communications with us.
Jeff is the best of the best! He kept me updated on every step of my refinance and even when we hit a massive roadblock, he was there through it all. He's thorough, easy to speak to and understands the process and how stressful it is for the borrower. I can't sing his praises enough! Carrington has a great employee and he deserves all the recognition of being the best representative for your company!
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She helped in absolutely every way she possibly could for us. We have suffered two major losses (both our fathers) and survival of Covid-19. At some points we weren't sure up from down but this Lady was a light in our darkness. We hope on some way she will be recognized for all of her work for she was heaven sent for us. Very professional and knowledgeable employee. A definite asset for your company to keep in our opinion.
John was assigned as my loan officer after a difficult and challenging 3 months trying to refinance my loan. John was familiar with the unconventional loan/deed issues that were occurring. After reaching out to me initially to start a new loan application John provided a smooth path through my refinance process. He was always professional, knowledgeable, patient with my many questions and lack of understanding the refinance process. He was available and provided prompt responses to my calls and emails. I will definitely rate John as a 10 on your customer service survey and nominate him as a Best Catch! Thank you John!!
I contacted Carrington Mortgage Services to refinance my existing loan, upon calling I was connected to a loan officer, Ben **. He made the process so easy and so smooth. I highly recommend Ben as your loan officer. Ben was very professional, knowledgeable, kind and responsive. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Ben and the loan processor Julie **, who finalized all the paperwork in a timely manner. I was very happy with her help as well. I would refer all my family and friends for any mortgage services they made need. Very satisfied client. To Ben and Julie, It was a pleasure doing business with you! I have been so impressed by your thoroughness, detail and consideration. I appreciate everything you’ve done for my family and I. Thank you again for such a great experience.
My mortgage was sold to this awful company recently. It has been nothing short of a nightmare! They did an escrow analysis when my loan came over. They doubled my taxes in error, which caused my monthly payment to increase by $600. I have now called 13 times with no resolve. I have never been treated so bad, and had such poor service by ANY company!!!! I would go anywhere but here for your mortgage needs.
On November 14th, 2022, I received a letter from Veteran's United informing me that my mortgage will be transferred to Carrington Mortgage Services. Twice a week since then I have tried to set up my online access to my account. Every time I am able to verify my identity. Then, after I am prompted to set up a username and security questions, I am met with a screen that says either "Our services are not available at this time" or "request blocked." Every week after the failed attempt to set up my online access I call customer service and I am simply told that I should try again next week. Well, I have "tried again" now TWELVE times and I am still unable to access my account online.
I have a payment due soon and would like to do it online. When I mentioned this to the person at customer service last week, I was told I could just send it via Western Union or MoneyGram rather than them solving my situation. I have called customer service about this issue now 14 TIMES and I have yet to get online access to my account. Last week I was told a message was sent to the "senior representative" and to the IT department on December 19th. Today I was once again unable to set up online access. I will be calling customer service tomorrow. However, I am certain I will be told to try again next week, which will be AFTER my payment is due.
I have been trying to get a loan modification since the beginning if the year and now we are in December. I cannot even tell you how many times I have had to resubmit my notarized packet for one ridiculous reason after another. The first time it was returned to me for “using white out” that never happened. I don’t even own white out and I am smart enough to know not to use it on official paperwork. The second time it was because I am married and my husband's name had to be added. Ok, this should have been said with the first packet. And as the tear went on the packets contained to get returned for one ridiculous reason after another.
At one point they claimed that I sent them photocopies instead of the original documents. It was starting to feel like a big joke. Like it didn’t matter how many times I submitted it, it was going to be returned because it did not pass quality control. So after paying a notary again and again and again, this last time they were returned I had decided they were never going to allow it to pass so I just quit sending it. I haven’t been happy with my mortgage specialist and so I asked her for her supervisor’s contact information. She failed to give it to me. She sent me his name but no way to contact him. I was truly at a loss of how to best proceed so I did nothing and waited for someone, anyone to contact me. It still didn’t happen.
I called today, 12/5/2022, to make my mortgage payment. I decided to pay what the terms of the mortgage modification had deemed my future payments would be. Then the gentleman asked me if If I had any questions or concerns. Well yes, I said and I briefly explained to him that I was not happy with my specialist and wanted to speak with someone in a higher position. He then informs me that he did not see any problems. The loan modification went through and my documents passed quality control and now we are just waiting for the final documents to be sent out. "How can this be possible," I asked. Of course he doesn’t know but it all looks good on their end. And again, no one has contacted me via phone, email, smoke signals or pigeons that my loan modification has been accepted. Wow, this process, after dealing with COVID for so long, has been an extremely frustrating and stressful. I sincerely hope that this is an anomaly and that all customers do not receive this same level of service.
There was some confusion due to personnel changes. Once I began working with Stacey, everything ran very smoothly. It was easy to communicate with Stacey & receive prompt updates. Stacey was fantastic, don't lose her!
I can't say enough about the professionalism, knowledge and excellent customer service Tom gave me. I truly appreciate Tom listening to me and assisting me in my time of need and giving me a peace of mind and hope. Tom's customer service is excellent! I can't thank him enough. God bless you Tom in all you do.
- Sources
- ConsumerAffairs writers primarily rely on government data, industry experts and original research from other reputable publications to inform their work. To learn more about the content on our site, visit our FAQ page. Specific sources for this article include:
- Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, “HMDA Data Publication.” Accessed Sept. 12, 2022.
Carrington Mortgage Services Company Information
- Company Name:
- Carrington Mortgage Services
- Website:
- carringtonms.com
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