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Caliber Home Loans Review 2023

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At a glance

Caliber Home Loans

Editor's take

Caliber Home Loans is good for borrowers looking for a large national lender that offers a variety of loan products, including nontraditional mortgage offerings.

Bankrate Score
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3.9
Rating: 3.9 stars out of 5
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Bankrate Score

Mortgage Percent

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, fixed-rate, adjustable-rate; refinancing, investment property

Credit Good

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans, 700 for jumbo loans, 580 for FHA loans, 620 for VA loans

Location

Nationwide availability

All U.S. states

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Min. down payment

3% for conventional loans; 3.5% for FHA loans; none for VA loans and USDA loans

At a glance

Caliber Home Loans

3.9

Rating: 3.9 stars out of 5
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Bankrate Score

Mortgage Percent

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, fixed-rate, adjustable-rate; refinancing, investment property

Location

Nationwide Availability

All U.S. states

Credit Good

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans, 700 for jumbo loans, 580 for FHA loans, 620 for VA loans

Caliber Home Loans overview

Texas-based Caliber Home Loans, Inc. is a mortgage originator and servicer that offers a variety of conventional, government-backed and specialty home loans and refinancing, with branches across the country. The lender was founded in 2008 when Caliber Funding and Vericrest Financial merged. Caliber Home Loans was the nation’s 12th-largest mortgage originator in 2022, according to federal data.

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Bankrate insight

Caliber Home Loans Smart Series mortgages are aimed at jumbo borrowers, self-employed borrowers and investors.

Pros and cons of Caliber Home Loans

Pros
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    Can close loans in as few as 10 days

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    First-time homebuyer program with a low down payment requirement (as little as 3 percent down)

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    Offers loan modification programs for eligible borrowers

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    Services loans after closing

Cons
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    Current mortgage rates not listed online

Our Editor’s Take on Caliber Home Loans

Caliber Home Loans is good for borrowers looking for a large national lender that offers a variety of loan products, including nontraditional mortgage offerings.

How Bankrate scored Caliber Home Loans

To determine Caliber Home Loans’s Bankrate Score, Bankrate’s editorial team rated it and other lenders on a scale of one to five stars based on a variety of factors relating to the lender’s products and services. (Bankrate’s partners compensate us, but our opinions are our own, and partner relationships do not influence our reviews.) We derived its overall score by considering three basic factors:

  • Affordability: You won’t find the latest mortgage rates from Caliber Home Loans on the lender’s website; you’ll need to request a quote in order to compare offers.

  • Availability: Caliber Home Loans is a national lender with a big lineup of mortgage products for various needs, including construction loans and investment property financing.

  • Borrower experience: The lender ranked above average in J.D. Power’s report on mortgage origination customer satisfaction, and it offers many ways to get in touch with a loan officer should you have questions.

Affordability: 3/5

Affordability differs from lender to lender, so comparing costs is key.

Caliber Home Loans doesn’t advertise mortgage rates on its website, but you can get a quote after submitting some basic personal information through an online form. The lender’s fees include an origination fee and other closing costs, which can include title services, recording, appraisal and credit report fees.

Availability: 4/5

This factor can make the overall mortgage application process smoother or more challenging.

Caliber Home Loans offers the full suite of home loan products, including conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA and USDA mortgages. The lender also offers rate-and-term, cash-out and streamline refinancing, as well as home equity solutions. It works with borrowers across the U.S.

Borrower experience: 4.7/5

Know what to expect when you work with a specific lender.

Caliber Home Loans is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and has A+ rating from the organization. J.D. Power rated the lender above average for mortgage origination customer satisfaction in 2022. When you’re ready to get a mortgage with Caliber, the lender accepts loan applications online and offers both prequalification and preapprovals. You can reach customer service by email, text, over the phone and at branch locations. Caliber’s website features educational tools to help you better understand the mortgage process, and with its app, you can check your application status, upload documents, connect with representatives, manage your payments, view escrow, request changes to your private mortgage insurance (PMI) status and update your user profile.

How to apply for a mortgage with Caliber Home Loans

You can apply for a purchase loan or a refinance in person at one of Caliber Home Loans’s branch locations or via the lender’s website.

Here are some tips to prepare for the process:

  1. Check your credit report. It’s important to check your credit report before your lender does, in case there are errors that could impact not only whether you get preapproved but also your ability to get the best mortgage rate. Knowing your credit score also helps you decide what type of loan to apply for. If your score is in the very low 600s, for instance, an FHA mortgage might be best for you, as its standards are more lenient than those for conventional loans.

  2. Gather personal and financial documents. With any lender, you must supply documentation about your income, assets and debts. This includes pay stubs and W-2s and account and loan statements.

  3. Provide details about the property. You’ll need to provide the address of the home and submit to an appraisal. (If you’re refinancing, you might or might not need an appraisal.)

Refinancing with Caliber Home Loans

Caliber Home Loans refinances existing mortgages. Before you start, think about your goals: Are you refinancing to adjust your current mortgage’s rate and term? Do you want to tap into home equity? Do you want to change loan programs, such as refinancing out of an FHA loan into a conventional mortgage? Once you’ve settled on those details, you can apply through the lender’s website or at a branch location.

Compare Caliber Home Loans to other lenders

Caliber Home Loans

Rating: 3.9 stars out of 5
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3.9

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LoanDepot
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
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4.4

Bankrate Score
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Read full review
Rocket Mortgage
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
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4.5

Bankrate Score
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Read full review

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, fixed-rate, adjustable-rate; refinancing, investment property

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, fixed-rate, adjustable-rate; rate-and-term and cash-out refinancing; construction and renovation loans

Loans offered

Conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA, fixed-rate, adjustable-rate; rate-and-term, cash-out and streamline refinancing; home equity loan; investment property; flex-term

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans, 700 for jumbo loans, 580 for FHA loans, 620 for VA loans

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans, 700 for jumbo loans, 580 for FHA loans, 620 for VA loans

Min. credit score required

620 for conventional loans, 680 for jumbo loans, 580 for FHA loans, 580 for VA loans

Down payment

3% for conventional loans; 3.5% for FHA loans; none for VA loans and USDA loans

Down payment

3.5% for FHA loans

Down payment

3% for conventional loans; 10%-15% for jumbo loans; 3.5% for FHA; none for VA loans

Nationwide availability

All U.S. states

Nationwide availability

Available in all U.S. states

Nationwide availability

All U.S. states