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Stearns Lending Review: Mortgage and Mortgage Refinancing

Stearns aims to help homebuyers and homeowners achieve their financial goals by offering quick, hassle-free closings.

Daria Uhlig Daria Uhlig Updated February 5, 2021

Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we receive compensation from our partner lenders, whom we will always identify, all opinions are our own. Credible Operations, Inc. NMLS # 1681276, is referred to here as "Credible."

Stearns Lending, LLC (Stearns) was founded to help homebuyers and homeowners achieve their financial goals. Reviews of Stearns give the company high marks for making the loan process easy for customers, even if your situation is more complex.

Stearns also partners with real estate agents, home builders, and financial and legal professionals to provide customers with a comprehensive experience.

In this post:

  • Stearns Lending mortgage purchase review
  • Stearns Lending mortgage refinancing review
  • How Stearns Lending can improve
  • Compare multiple lenders first

Stearns Lending mortgage purchase review

Best for:

  • First-time homebuyers
  • Buyers wanting to finance a fixer-upper
  • Doctors and dentists

As far as types of mortgage loans, Stearns offers conventional, government-backed, and jumbo loans:

  • Conventional loans: You’ll need a minimum credit score of 620 to take out a conventional loan with Stearns.
  • FHA loans: Buyers with lower scores can consider a loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration. FHA loans have looser eligibility criteria, including a minimum credit score of 580 to qualify for a 3.5% minimum down payment.
  • VA and USDA: Other home loans include 0% down payment options like Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Agriculture loans.
  • Jumbo loans: Stearns offers jumbo loans for buyers purchasing a high-priced home or one in a high-cost area that doesn’t qualify for conventional financing. The minimum credit score for jumbo loans is 660 with a 20% down payment or 680 with 10% down.
  • FHA 203(k) rehab loan: Stearns offers an FHA 203(k) rehab loan to simplify the process of purchasing a home that needs repairs. A 203(k) loan lets you finance the purchase and the renovations using the same loan. Qualified renovations run the gamut from aesthetic improvements to pre-rehabilitation demolition.

In addition to those above, Stearns offers two custom mortgage loans:

  • Smart Start: This is a special Stearns loan program that gives first-time homebuyers a lower payment on their fixed-rate loan for the first two years.
  • Stearns’ Doctor Loan: This loan makes it easier for doctors and dentists to qualify for home financing. This loan requires just 5% down and excludes some student loan payments from the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio. This makes it easier to keep your DTI ratio below the loan program’s maximum.

Here’s a detailed look at Stearns home purchase loans:

Mortgage
programs
Conventional, FHA, FHA 203(k), VA, USDA, jumbo, Stearns Smart Start, Doctor Loan
Fixed-rate
loan terms
  • Conventional: 10 to 30 years
  • FHA: 15, 25, 30 years
  • VA: 15, 25, 30 years
  • USDA: 30 years
  • FHA 230k rehab: 30 years
  • Jumbo: 15 or 30 years
Variable-rate
loan terms
  • Conventional: 5, 7, 10 years
  • FHA: 5 years
  • VA: 5 years
  • Jumbo: 5, 7, 10 years
Rates and feesAPR depends on loan type, term, and amount, as well as buyer’s qualifications.
FeesFees, including appraisal fees, vary by state.
  • VA funding fee: 1.40% with 10% down payment, 1.65% with 5% down payment, 2.30% with $0 down down for first-time benefit users
  • FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium: 1.75%
  • USDA guarantee fee: 1% at closing plus 0.35% per year
Min. down payment
  • Conventional: 3%
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Stearns Lending mortgage refinancing review

Best for:

  • Homeowners age 62 and up considering a reverse mortgage
  • Borrowers with an existing FHA or VA loan
  • Homeowners who need financing to repair their home

Refinancing your mortgage into a loan with a lower interest rate or a shorter term can reduce your payments or reduce the amount of interest you pay over the life of your loan. You can refinance into a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage — and even cash out equity if you qualify.

Along with conventional and jumbo loans, here’s a rundown of Stearns other refinancing options:

  • Streamline options: Borrowers with VA or FHA loans can use the Streamline option to simplify their mortgage refinance application and close on the new loan more quickly.
  • In the case of a VA refinance, you can cash out equity for any reason you want.
  • Home Equity Conversion Mortgage: Stearns also offers home equity conversion mortgages, or reverse mortgages, for qualified homeowners age 62 and up. A HECM lets you draw from your equity with no obligation to repay the loan as long as you live in your home.
  • FHA 203(k): In the event your current home needs renovations, an FHA 203(k) limited or full renovation loan might be the way to go.

Here’s more detail on Stearns mortgage refinance loans:

Mortgage
refinance programs
Conventional, jumbo, 203(k), FHA Streamline, VA Streamline, VA cash-out
Fixed-rate
loan terms
10 to 30 years
Variable-rate
loan terms
  • Conventional: 3, 5, 7, 10 years
  • Jumbo: 5, 7, 10 years
Rates APR depends on loan type, term, and amount, as well as, buyer’s qualifications.
FeesFees, including appraisal fees, vary by state.
  • VA funding fee: 0.5% to 2.30% for first use of benefit, depending on loan
  • FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium: 0.55%
  • USDA guarantee fee: 1% at closing plus 0.35% per year
Find out if refinancing is right for you

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  • Smart technology – We streamline the questions you need to answer and automate the document upload process.
  • End-to-end experience – Complete the entire origination process from rate comparison up to closing, all on Credible.

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How Stearns Lending can improve

Stearns offers a wide range of products and has good reviews, but here’s how the company could improve:

  • Be more transparent: You won’t find information about rates or fees on the Stearns website unless you fill out a form with your contact information.
  • Make branch offices easier to find: Stearns has branch offices in 23 states, but to find one, you’ll have to enter a zip code within a very short distance. Outside of that narrow area, the locator displays a phone number for the national sales office.

Find Out: How Much It Costs to Buy a Home

Compare multiple lenders first

Stearns reviews are generally very positive, and the lender has programs geared to a wide range of borrowers. But it makes sense to shop around for the best rates before you apply for a loan.

Credible makes it easy to compare personalized mortgage rates from Stearns Lending and our other partners in the table below by filling out a single form.

 


The company above is one of Credible’s approved partner lenders. Because they compete for your business through Credible, you can request rates from them by filling out a single form. Then, you can compare your available options side-by-side. Requesting rates is free, doesn’t affect your credit score, and your personal information is not shared with our partner lenders unless you see an option you like. Credible receives compensation if you close a loan with one of our partner lenders. The rates you receive and the fees you pay (if any) are not impacted by this compensation.

About the author
Daria Uhlig
Daria Uhlig

Daria Uhlig is a contributor to Credible who covers mortgage and real estate. Her work has appeared in publications like The Motley Fool, USA Today, MSN Money, CNBC, and Yahoo! Finance.

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Discover Student Loans Disclosure

The interest rates depicted on Credible represent the APR. The fixed interest rate is set at the time of application and does not change during the life of the loan. The variable interest rate is calculated based on the 3-Month LIBOR index plus the applicable Margin percentage. The margin is based on your credit evaluation at the time of application and does not change. For variable interest rate loans, the 3-Month LIBOR is 2.375% as of July 1, 2018. Discover Student Loans will adjust the rate quarterly on each January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 (the “interest rate change date”), based on the 3-Month LIBOR Index, published in the Money Rates section of The Wall Street Journal 15 days prior to the interest rate change date, rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent (0.125% or 0.00125). This may cause the monthly payments to increase, the number of payments to increase or both. Please visit http://www.discover.com/student-loans/interest-rates.html for more information about interest rates.

Citizens Bank Disclosures

Student Loan Rate Disclosure

Variable rate, based on the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) published in The Wall Street Journal on the twenty-fifth day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month. As of July 1, 2018, the one-month LIBOR rate is 2.10%. Variable interest rates range from 4.07%-12.04% (4.07%-11.94% APR) and will fluctuate over the term of the loan with changes in the LIBOR rate, and will vary based on applicable terms, level of degree earned and presence of a cosigner. Fixed interest rates range from 5.25%-12.19% (5.25% – 12.09% APR) based on applicable terms, level of degree earned and presence of a cosigner. Lowest rates shown requires application with a cosigner, are for eligible applicants, require a 5-year repayment term, borrower making scheduled payments while in school and include our Loyalty and Automatic Payment discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty Discount and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. Subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Please note: Due to federal regulations, Citizens Bank is required to provide every potential borrower with disclosure information before they apply for a private student loan. The borrower will be presented with an Application Disclosure and an Approval Disclosure within the application process before they accept the terms and conditions of the loan.

Citizens Bank - Refi - Disclosures

Education Refinance Loan Rate Disclosure:

Variable rate, based on the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) published in The Wall Street Journal on the twenty-fifth day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month. As of July 1, 2018, the one-month LIBOR rate is 2.10%. Variable interest rates range from 2.75%-8.20% (2.75%-8.20% APR) and will fluctuate over the term of the borrower’s loan with changes in the LIBOR rate, and will vary based on applicable terms, level of degree earned and presence of a cosigner. Fixed interest rates range from 3.50%-8.69% (3.50% – 8.69% APR) based on applicable terms, level of degree earned and presence of a cosigner. Lowest rates shown require application with a cosigner, are for eligible, creditworthy applicants with a graduate level degree, require a 5-year repayment term and include our Loyalty discount and Automatic Payment discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. The maximum variable rate on the Education Refinance Loan is the greater of 21.00% or Prime Rate plus 9.00%. Subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Please note: Due to federal regulations, Citizens Bank is required to provide every potential borrower with disclosure information before they apply for a private student loan. The borrower will be presented with an Application Disclosure and an Approval Disclosure within the application process before they accept the terms and conditions of their loan.