Citizens Bank Mortgage Reviews

Citizens Bank mortgages are recommended for homebuyers purchasing their first home or building or renovating one from the ground up. It has several low down-payment programs that make homeownership more accessible. Moreover, its construction-to-permanent loans mean you only pay closing costs once when financing your home’s build.

While Citizens Bank is one of the oldest and largest financial institutions in America, it scored below average in J.D. Power’s Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. Those looking to have a superior experience with their mortgage loan process may not have their expectations met when using Citizens Bank.

Citizens Bank offers mortgages to refinance an existing home or purchase a new one. Some refinancing options you can choose from are a home equity line of credit (HELOC), GoalBuilder HELOC for up to $25,000, rate and term, cash-out and interest-only loans.

You can apply and qualify for your home loan refinance with its online application. You’ll receive a personalized offer in two to three minutes.

The company also offers many loan options beyond the standard conventional loan, many offering low down payment requirements.

• Conventional loan: These loans aren’t backed or insured by the government. They typically require good credit to qualify.
• Construction-to-permanent loan: This finances your home construction or renovation and turns your temporary loan into a traditional, permanent mortgage.
• FHA loan: These loans are for low-to-moderate-income families buying their first home. It offers a 3.5% down payment and lower credit requirements.
• Conventional 97 loan: This loan allows a down payment as low as 3% without income limits or upfront mortgage premiums.
• HomeReady loan: The HomeReady program allows down payments as low as 3%. You can also use gift funds for your down payment or closing costs. Very low-income borrowers may receive $2,500 toward these costs.
• Destination Home Mortgage loan: This loan allows you to put as little as 3% down on one- to two-unit homes or 5% on multiunit dwellings. There’s no private mortgage insurance or income limits if you buy in a low-to-moderate-income area.
• ONE Mortgage loan: This loan is only available in Massachusetts. It features a discounted interest rate, a 3% down payment requirement, no private mortgage insurance (PMI) and an interest subsidy for qualified borrowers.
• VA loan: Current and past service members and their spouses can use VA loans to finance up to 100% of their home without mortgage insurance premiums.
• Jumbo loan: This loan is used when you need to borrow more than what the government allows for a conventional loan in your location.

There are three main areas that Citizens Bank looks at to ensure you qualify for a loan and to help determine your interest rate:

1. Credit history and FICO score
2. Property being purchased
3. Debt-to-income ratio (how your income and assets compare with your debts)

You’ll also need to provide several documents when looking to apply for a loan or get preapproved for one, including:

• State-issued ID
• Pay stubs for the last 60 days
• Federal tax returns for the last two years
• Savings and checking bank account statements
• Investment account statements (including retirement accounts) from the previous quarter

If you’re self-employed, Citizens Bank also asks for personal and business (if applicable) tax returns for the last two years.

If you don’t already have a realtor, you can get between $350 and $9,500 when you buy or sell a home with one of Citizens’ network agents. If you do both, you get double the reward. To get the highest $9,500 reward, you’d have to purchase a home that’s $1.9 million or more.

If you buy a home for the average price of $421,000, you’ll get a $1,250 reward, or $2,500 if you also sell your home with a partner realtor. The rewards are paid using the payment method you choose. The Home Rewards program isn’t available in Alaska, Iowa, Louisiana or Missouri.

Another helpful service from Citizens Bank is that you can lock your interest rate for 60 days. You must sign your purchase-and-sale agreement within 30 days of locking your rate and close within 60 days to be eligible.

Citizens Bank’s main mortgage page can give you an idea of your monthly mortgage payment. It provides sample interest rates using today’s rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages on a $300,000 loan. Rates include a 0.125% autopay and paperless discount for your mortgage bill.

Citizens Bank doesn’t provide much detail on closing costs, but it does show common service fees that could be charged to your account. For example, if you have a construction-to-permanent loan, you could pay a minimum of 0.125% of your loan amount for a one-month extension.