Today we’ll check out “Haven Home Equity,” a mortgage lender that constantly lands in LendingTree’s top-10 rankings for customer satisfaction.
In fact, they’ve earned that distinction in several of the past few quarters and beyond, a strong testament to their exceptional (and consistent) customer service.
The company began as a small mom and pop shop operating out of an 80-square foot home office, and is now a multi-million-dollar corporation with multiple locations.
They consider themselves cash out refinance specialists, helping homeowners tap into their equity to pay off more expensive debt or cover other expenses.
And they’ve got solutions for those with less than perfect credit who are looking to improve their financial outlook. Read on to learn more.
Haven Home Equity Fast Facts
- Family-owned and operated direct-to-consumer mortgage lender
- Offers home purchase loans, refis, home equity loans, and more
- Founded in 2002, headquartered in Richmond Heights, MO
- Licensed to do business in 32 states nationwide
- Funded about $560 million in home loans last year
- Most active in Florida, Michigan, and North Carolina
- Specialize in helping homeowners consolidate debt and get cash out
- Say they accept credit scores starting at 500
Haven Home Equity, formerly known as “Top Flite Financial Inc.,” began as a family shop, launched by Timothy and Tracie Baise in December 2002.
Their home office in rural Michigan eventually transformed into a large corporate office in Richmond Heights, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, along with a second location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Today, the company funds more than half a billion in home loans annually across the entire United States.
At the moment, they’re licensed in 32 states. They are most active in the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio, and roughly two-thirds of their loans are mortgage refinances.
The company specializes in cash-out refinancing to pay off debt, which they refer to as a strategic refinance or debt restructure.
What makes them unique is they accept credit scores as low as 500 with the aim of helping homeowners with non-housing debt save money via consolidation.
How to Apply for a Mortgage with Haven Home Equity
To get started, you can call them directly or visit their website to learn more about the company.
If you go online, you can fill out a short form to get a free quote. A Haven Home Equity loan officer will then reach out to discuss loan options, eligibility, and pricing.
Assuming you’re happy with what you hear, you can fill out their digital mortgage application and upload supporting documentation, such as bank statements and tax returns.
Their tech platform is powered by SimpleNexus, a leader in the digital mortgage space.
You have the option to download their “Hole N1 Mortgage” smartphone app or complete your application from their secure online portal.
The app displays a checklist of items that need to be uploaded, which can be sent securely via your phone.
You will receive updates as you go, and can message your loan officer instantly if and when you have questions.
Those in the market to purchase a home can get pre-qualified for a mortgage in as little as 24 hours.
Loan Programs Offered by Haven Home Equity
- Home purchase loans
- Refinance loans: rate and term, cash out, streamline
- Conforming loans backed by Fannie/Freddie
- FHA loans
- VA loans
- USDA loans
- Jumbo and super jumbo loans up to $3.5 million
- Self-employed bank statement programs
- Non-QM loans
- DSCR loans
- Manufactured and modular home loans
- Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs)
- Reverse mortgages
If you’re looking for access to a wide selection of loan programs, you’ll like what Haven Home Equity has to offer.
They’ve got pretty much every home loan program under the sun, from government-backed mortgages (FHA/VA/USDA) to super jumbo loans and bank statement programs.
You can also get a combo loan with a home equity line of credit (HELOC) in place as a second mortgage to extend your financing.
Seniors on a fixed income can take advantage of a reverse mortgage as an alternative to a traditional home loan, which carries no monthly payments.
And those with less-than-perfect credit can get approved as well, even if they need a cash out refinance.
What sets them apart from other lenders is their “Step Forward Program,” which allows borrowers to get FHA and VA loans with credit scores as low as 500.
These borrowers can pull cash out or consolidate their debt to improve their financial position.
After 6-8 on-time payments, a loan officer will determine if better loan options are available.
Typically, credit scores improve after the initial refinance, which may allow for better terms.
If this is the case, they’ll offer a “no lender fee” refinance to help customers reduce their monthly mortgage payments going forward.
Haven Home Equity lends on all major property types, including manufactured and modular homes.
Loan terms ranging from 10 to 30 years are available. It’s unclear if they also offer adjustable-rate mortgages.
Haven Home Equity Mortgage Rates
Haven Home Equity says they may not always have the lowest “advertised” mortgage rate, but that they pride themselves on delivering the terms advertised.
And that includes always being transparent with real numbers so each customer knows what they qualify for upfront.
That being said, they might offer very competitive mortgage rates depending on the loan scenario in question.
Additionally, they may have loan programs that the other guys don’t offer, which could be more important than price.
Still, given their excellent customer reviews across multiple ratings websites, my guess is they are priced fairly well relative to other mortgage companies.
Of course, you should still put in the time to shop with other lenders and gather additional quotes to ensure a better deal isn’t missed.
With regard to lender fees, that’s also a question mark, though my guess is they can structure their loans as no cost mortgages using lender credits.
Haven Home Equity Reviews
On LendingTree, Haven Home Equity has a near-perfect 4.93-star rating out of 5 from about 3,200 customer reviews. And 98% of these customers would recommend the company to others.
Additionally, they have landed in the top-10 for customer satisfaction in the home lending and home equity categories on LendingTree for the past several quarters.
That achievement is based directly on customer ratings and reviews, which take into account interest rates, fees and closing costs, and overall experience.
Over at Google, they’ve got a near perfect 4.9-rating from about 1,000 customer reviews. And on Facebook, a 4.9 rating from over 300 reviews.
The company also has a 4.89/5 rating on the Better Business Bureau website from more than 200 reviews, which is a very good score for a more complaint-driven site.
Lastly, they are a BBB accredited company and have been since 2004. They currently hold an ‘A+’ rating based on complaint history.
To sum things up, Haven Home Equity’s wide selection of loan offerings sets them apart. Especially the ones geared toward borrowers with low credit scores in need of cash.
If you don’t have great credit, or perhaps a tricky loan scenario that requires alternative documentation, but still want cash out or a lower rate, they could be a good option.
They might even be a good choice for someone with excellent credit, as their customer reviews are stellar.
Haven Home Equity Pros and Cons
The Good Stuff
- Can apply for a home loan online or via smartphone
- They offer a digital, mostly paperless mortgage process
- Excellent customer reviews across all major ratings websites
- A top-10 LendingTree partner based on customer satisfaction
- Lots of loan programs to choose from including low FICO score options
- Free smartphone app to help submit and manage your loan
The Maybe Not
- Aren’t licensed in all states
- Do not list mortgage rates and lender fees online
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Arnold & Nancy Abelaye,
We almost had our Refinance go through about a month ago. We went a thru the docs., and I also paid the Appraisal Fee $645.00 at the Very Last Step my So Call Mortgage Rep. (GERALD ROAM) FROM MO. Office…saw there was a Lien from my FHA
And because he had all the time to investigate it
And I had told him I believed my balance pay off was more. After I paid Appraisal Fee…it threw my mortgage payment off for that month and I was late. Never Again I will go with a Company that is SO SURE OF THEMSELVES & LEADS PEOPLE ON TO SAY THEY QUALIFIED…WHEN THEY JUST DROPPED THE BOMB ON YOU. WE ARE SENIORS, AND VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THIS COMPANY! NEVER AGAIN!!!
Robert McGivern and Kelsey Adams were THE BEST PART of my entire refinance process. The company app offers total transparency through the process. Daily updates of what information was received, what is needed, what is in process and what to expect next. Kelsey worked tirelessly to assist me in every aspect from inspections to insurance. I was certain to receive a phone call from Robert every Friday simply to ensure that I had any questions answered, was updated to any changes or issues that were being handled and just touch base prior to the weekend. The entire refinance was seamless resulting in the best interest rate, and closing within an impressive amount of time. I would HIGHLY recommend them for ALL of your mortgage needs.