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Embrace Home Loans mortgage review
Your closing date is guaranteed with this lender, but it doesn’t offer home equity products.
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Conventional: 620
Minimum credit score
3%
Minimum down payment (Conventional)
Not available in: HI, NV
State availability
Details
| Loan products offered | Conventional, Jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, Refinance |
|---|---|
| Minimum credit score | Conventional: 620 |
| Minimum down payment (Conventional) | 3% |
| State availability | Not available in: HI, NV |
| NMLS # | 2184 |
Embrace Home Loans is not currently available on Finder
Have you considered First Horizon?
Multiple mortgage programs available in 12 states with no pre-payment fee.
Pros
- Get prequalified by text
- Guaranteed to meet your closing date or you get paid $2,500
- Lock your rate for up to nine months
Cons
- Doesn’t offer home equity products
- No interest rate information online
- Not licensed in Nevada or Hawaii
Our take on Embrace Home Loans
This lender’s wide list of mortgage products and decent customer reviews make it a solid choice for a variety of homebuyers. Embrace has options whether you’re looking for a more traditional loan or need help because of your employment situation or income level.
But it doesn’t list its rates online, which means you’ll need to go through the approval process to determine what kind of deal you can get. And if you want a home equity loan or line of credit, you’ll need to find another lender.
Standout Features
If you decide to apply with Embrace, take advantage of the following discounts and guarantees:
- Extended rate lock. Embrace allows you to lock your interest rate for up to nine months with a one-time offer to re-lock your rate if interest rates fall during your lock period.
- Guaranteed on-time closing. If your conventional, FHA or VA loan doesn’t close on the date agreed upon by you and Embrace, you’ll get $2,500.
Lending requirements aren’t specified
Your eligibility varies by loan, and Embrace doesn’t list its loan requirements on its website. If you’re looking for a government-backed loan — such as an FHA, VA or USDA loan — the requirements are listed by the various agencies, but lenders sometimes tack on additional requirements. If you’re unsure whether you’re eligible, ask this lender before you apply so you don’t waste your time going through the process.
Typically, lenders use your credit history, debt-to-income ratio (DTI) and the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of your home to determine your eligibility for a loan and to set your interest rate.
Fees aren’t specified
Embrace doesn’t disclose the fees it charges to underwrite your loan. This isn’t unusual, as fees can vary widely based on the loan you want and the state you live in. But typical closing costs tend to hover around 3% of your loan amount and include:
- Lender fees. Costs associated with processing your loan, such as application and origination fees, discount points and rate-lock charges.
- Third-party fees. Appraisal fees, title fees and recording fees are all included in the fees charged by companies outside of Embrace. You may also need to prepay association fees and have homeowners insurance in place.
- Government fees. You typically have to prepay taxes and other assessments charged by your state and local government.
Embrace Home Loans reviews are limited but good
There aren’t many online customer reviews available for Embrace, but most of the ones we found were relatively positive. The lender has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 2009 and has an A+ rating for closing 11 customer complaints over the past three years.
As of July 2022, Embrace has 169 customer reviews on the BBB, averaging 4.73 stars out of 5. Trustpilot doesn’t have any reviews for the lender, but Embrace has a 2-star rating on Yelp with 36 reviews.
Customers have a lot of praise for individual loan officers, several having come back to use Embrace more than once to finance a mortgage or refinance. A few customers complaining of issues with their loan servicing still have praise for their loan officers. Complaints center around not being approved because of student loan debt and servicing issues with loans being sold to other companies.
5 steps to getting a mortgage with Embrace Home Loans
Embrace claims its online mortgage application will only take you 15 minutes. The lender also offers a fully underwritten preapproval for homebuyers just starting to look at houses, plus the option to get a prequalification by texting PREQUALME to 22722.
To apply online:
- Navigate to Embrace’s website, select Apply on the home page and choose whether you want to refinance or purchase a home.
- Create and verify your account, then answer questions about the property you want and the amount of loan you’ll need. Select Save and Continue.
- Step through questions about your personal information and the information of any co-borrower you may have, your employment and income. Select Save and Continue at the bottom of each page.
- Enter information about your assets and liabilities, and answer declaration questions.
- Review your application information and select Submit.
Documents you’ll need
Embrace requires the following documentation to apply for a mortgage loan:
- W-2 and most recent tax return
- Proof of employment and income, such as your most recent pay stub
- Driver’s license or other government-issued ID
- Credit report
- Bank statements and other statements of asset accounts
- Documentation of gifted funds
- Rental history, if applicable
Embrace’s loan options are diverse
In addition to Embrace’s standard offerings of Conventional, Jumbo, FHA, VA and USDA loans, you can apply for a cashout, rate-and-term or debt consolidation refinance. And if none of those options fit your circumstances, consider one of the following more specialized mortgage products:
- Approved to move. This option allows you to get a fully underwritten preapproval, which can help you stand out from other bidders on a property and is good for up to 90 days.
- Low-income options. Embrace offers both Fannie Mae’s HomeReady and Freddie Mac’s Home Possible loan programs, which allow you to apply with a 620 FICO score and 3% down payment.
- Renovation loans. Embrace offers three loan options to help you make home improvements: FHA’s full and limited 203(k) loans and Fannie Mae’s HomeStyle renovation loan.
- Unconventional loans. This lender finances investment properties and second homes and has special terms for self-employed borrowers with FICO scores of 700 or more. It will also work with you if you’ve had a foreclosure or bankruptcy that discharged two years ago or more.
- High LTV refinance. Through Embrace, you can refinance your Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan using the Fannie Mae High Loan-To-Value Refinance Option (HIRO) or Freddie Mac Enhanced Relief Refinance (FMERR), even if you haven’t owned your home long enough to have a lot of equity.
Alternatives to Embrace Home Loans
While Embrace has plenty to offer, you’ll need to find a lender that offers home equity products if you don’t want to go through a full refinance to cash out your home’s equity.
There are a lot of home equity lenders to choose from — like Citibank —which allow you to use nontraditional credit such as your rental history to qualify. Veterans may consider Navy Federal Credit Union for its high customer ratings, lack of closing costs and the ability to finance 100% of your home’s value, if you qualify.
Regardless of what’s important to you in a lender, comparison shopping can help you find options you may not know are out there and ensure you find the right mortgage for you.
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