Today we’ll check out “Lennar Mortgage,” which is the financing division of parent company Lennar Corp.
If you weren’t aware, Lennar is one of the nation’s largest home builders, and is also nearly 70-years old.
Like many large builders, they have an in-house mortgage company that facilitates their new home sales.
Instead of outsourcing home loan lending to a third-party company, they’re able to provide the customer with a streamlined process from end to end.
Read on to learn more about their history and what types of loan offerings they have available, including special incentives you won’t find elsewhere.
Lennar Mortgage Fast Facts
- The home loan division of parent company Lennar Corp.
- Lennar is the nation’s second largest home builder, founded in 1954
- Formerly known as Eagle Home Mortgage before a name change in 2020
- Headquartered in Miami, FL, founded in 1981
- Currently have building operations in 26 states nationally
- Primarily utilized by home buyers who purchase a Lennar property
- Funded over $14 billion in home loans in 2022
- Known for offering big mortgage rate buydowns
As noted, Lennar Mortgage is the financing unit of its parent company, Lennar Corp., the second largest home builder in the United States.
They only trail D.R. Horton, which also has an in-house lender by the name of DHI Mortgage.
While their parent company is nearly 70 years old, Lennar Mortgage is a lot younger.
In fact, they were acquired by Lennar back in 1999, at the time known as “Eagle Home Mortgage.” That company had been around since 1981.
As of December 5th, 2020, they were renamed Lennar Mortgage to make it clearer to customers that the company was part of the Lennar family.
At the moment, they have building operations in 26 states, meaning Lennar Mortgage is essentially available to customers in roughly half the country.
They primarily operate in the states of California, Florida, and Texas, along with the Mountain West and Mid-Atlantic states.
Last year, the company funded over $14 billion in home loans, with about 75% being conventional loans, 15% FHA loans, and 12% VA loans, per HMDA data.
While their website indicates that they offer refinance loans, they primarily serve their own home buyer customers with purchase loans.
Aside from operating a mortgage unit, Lennar also has Lennar Title and Lennar Insurance Agency, which allows them to streamline the home buying process.
They have physical branches throughout the country (where new home communities exist) and roughly 1,200 lending associates.
How to Apply with Lennar Mortgage
To get started, you can visit their website and get pre-qualified for a mortgage, or simply coordinate with your home buying rep after visiting a new home community.
They’ve got local loan officers throughout the country and physical branches in the states where they build homes.
Their new home communities may also have sales offices with lending representatives present.
Like other mortgage lenders, Lennar Mortgage offers a digital home loan experience that is mostly paperless.
It appears to be backed by ICE Mortgage Technology, one of the leading fintech companies in the mortgage space.
Customers can apply from any device and auto-save their loan application to pick up where they left off.
And automatically connect bank statements, tax returns, and income documentation within minutes, with bank-level encryption to provide peace of mind.
On-demand digital mortgage support is also available for those who need help along the way, though most tasks can be completed without the need for human interaction if that’s a preference.
All in all, it appears they offer a good combination of human support, if needed, along with the latest technology for convenience.
Loan Options Available at Lennar Mortgage
- Home purchase loans (and mortgage refinances)
- Conforming and jumbo loans
- FHA/VA/USDA loan options
- Fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans available
- They lend on single-family homes and townhomes
As noted, most Lennar Mortgage customers will use the company for a home purchase mortgage.
While they do offer refinance loans, their primary objective is getting their parent company’s home buyers a mortgage.
The good news is they offer all the major home loan types a home buyer would need, whether it’s a conforming loan or a jumbo loan.
Or a fixed-rate mortgage or adjustable-rate mortgage, including the popular 7/1 ARM.
They also offer the complete suite of government-back loans, including FHA, VA, and USDA loans.
Down payments can be as low as zero on the government loan options, or just 3% for the conventional loan options.
They offer financing on primary residences, second homes, and investment properties.
Lennar Mortgage Rates
Once huge advantage to using Lennar Mortgage is their mortgage rate buydowns, which are pretty hard to beat.
Since mortgage rates surged higher, from around 3% in early 2022 to nearly 8%, companies like Lennar Mortgage have been offering large rate buydowns to their own customers.
So those who use the company to purchase a Lennar home can take advantage of big interest rate reductions they likely won’t find elsewhere.
For example, you might see an advertised mortgage rate special of 4.99%, despite the 30-year fixed currently averaging 7.50% or higher.
Or a big dollar amount in incentives, which can be used like a lender credit to cover closing costs or apply toward a rate buydown.
This is their big advantage as a home builder’s captive financing unit. They’re able to offer special deals that can boost affordability, even if market rates are high.
In terms of advertising their rates, you won’t find a page dedicated to mortgage rates on their website.
And these rate specials will vary from community to community nationwide, depending on supply and demand of newly-built homes.
Is Lennar Mortgage Legit?
Yes, they are the official financing division of Lennar, one of the largest home builders in the United States.
In fact, Lennar Corp. was reportedly the second largest home builder in the nation as of 2023, trailing only D.R. Horton.
The company is also publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: LEN) and is valued at over $34 billion at last glance.
They are a Fortune 500 company as well and date back to the 1950s, which is older than most mortgage companies in existence today.
Lennar Mortgage also has a 4.89/5 star rating on Zillow from over 2,100 customer reviews and holds an ‘A+’ Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to use Lennar Mortgage just because you’re purchasing a Lennar home.
It’s perfectly acceptable to use a third-party lender, though it may be difficult for them to match the pricing incentives offered.
At the end of the day, Lennar Mortgage will likely have a huge leg up compared to other lenders thanks to their ability to structure pricing and rates in-house to boost affordability.
And because they offer a wide range of loan options and a digital mortgage experience, it’ll likely be a challenge for outside lenders to compete.
That being said, always take the time to gather other mortgage quotes and be sure to negotiate with the company.
Simply letting them know you are looking into other financing alternatives could result in more leverage and/or a better deal.
But when it comes time to refinance your loan, they likely won’t be nearly as competitive on pricing. At that stage, you’d probably be better off finding a new mortgage company to work with.
Lennar Mortgage Pros and Cons
The Good
- Can apply for a home loan online or at a physical branch
- Offer a paperless digital mortgage experience
- Integrated title and homeowners insurance companies
- Lots of loan options including fixed rates and ARMs
- Offer big incentive to home buyers including rate buydown and lender credits
- Free credit guidance to those who need to boost their FICO scores
- Access to mortgage calculators and learning center online
- Excellent reviews from past customers
The Maybe Not
- Do not advertise their daily mortgage rates online
- Not available in all states
- Primarily offer home purchase loans
- No home equity or second mortgage options
- Do not service loans after closing
I wish I could say it has been even slightly enjoyable. I’ve been told by some I should file a formal complaint with Lennar Corp. Yet, my realtor say don’t do that, they will just be harder to deal with. I’m in Florida so no chance of seeing the 4.99 that Colorado might be lucky to experience. Heck, my loan office at Prosperity Lakes Tampa division told us they had one option. I asked about an ARM loan she stated they don’t offer them at all. Then this has been the worst experience trying to buy a home ever. I’d have to compare it to buying a car. Worst communication ever, actually our agent said he is dealing with a very similar issue with another client at the same location Prosperity Lakes. Just different sales rep for Lennar and different loan officer. So, it could just be a Florida – Tampa customer service issue. He tried to suggest we go with D.R H as they are working to earn business. When it seems that Lennar has grown so Large their management doesn’t give a damn. Open to any suggestions. Thanks , Ken
This article is clearly biased and most likely sponsored by Lennar Corp. I am a mortgage broker with 23 years of experience. Most buyers who finance with Lennar Mortgage are not getting a good deal on their loan. Why? Because Lennar structures their purchase contracts that limit the buyers ability to shop for the best loan terms. Almost all Lennar purchase contracts offer closing costs credits only IF the buyer uses Lennar Mortgage for their loan. This credit can be thousands of dollars, I typically see them range from $5k to $15k on average. To the average buyer this might seem like a fair deal on the surface until they get their final loan terms from Lennar Mortgage, which have higher rates and fees compared to competitively priced other lenders, banks and credit unions. Buyers call me all the time knowing they can get a lower rate and cost than what Lennar Mortgage offer them but also know that they cant forgo the builder credit. They feel trapped. Lennar knows this, their seller credit is already included in the price of the home. Contrary to what this article states I hear many complaints from buyers working with Lennar Mortgage about their poor service, which is a probably a result of having captive buyers stuck in unfair contracts. Lennar Mortgage would do a fraction of the business if regulation prohibited the closing cost credit from being contingent on using them for the loan. It’s not right and it should be illegal when you have affiliated companies like this. Buying and financing a home is typically the largest financial transaction a consumer makes in their lifetime. Unfortunately Lennar has created a way to hurt consumers by doing this. And that is the Truth.
If they are offering you free money to use their mortgage company because they will give you $25,000 in buydown it is in their benefit, not yours. please consider that $25,000 takes around 5 years of mortgage payments to lower the balance that much. Always use a realtor and when time comes to refinance, never consider your current servicer. Go to and find yourself an independent wholesale mortgage broker that works with UWM.
Hi Mark,
The article is not sponsored by Lennar or biased. If anything, I tried to keep it as objective as possible.
But I appreciate your thoughts on the company and the way they structure their deals. I did see a handful of complaints on the BBB website in regard to this.
I agree it complicates matters when the customer is working with the builder/lender of same parent company. Can third-party lenders compete with the massive buydowns they are providing, even when accounting any other closing costs?
This article is definitely biased. I bought a house with Lennar last year. The whole ordeal has been a nightmare. They clearly have no pride in their work as the house had many problems. I ended up using their loan department which is even worse then the builder itself. The people who work at the finance company are clueless and rude. Also they sold the mortgage to another company within 3 month. NEVER again will I buy a house from Lennar or use their mortgage company.
Sorry to hear about your experience, but I’m glad you shared it so there is MORE subjective data to go on. The article itself is based on objective information such as company history, loan offerings, customer reviews from 3rd party sites, etc.
We purchased a Lennar home and went with Lennar Mortgage and Title for the 1% interest rate savings (finished a 300K home at 5.25%)
The pain and heartache dealing with the mortgage approval and documentation pieces was HUGE.
When it came to closing they screwed up on our required money to provide at closing initially telling us it would be $6500, then the day before closing saying it was $4200, they then came back and said that yes it was supposed to be $6500… fortunately they were able to keep the $4200 statement.
Then to top it all off, they sold our mortgage to another company (Pennymac – which has been very good), before we even made our first payment.
Overall the heartache and pain was probably worth it because we save a lot of money over the life of the loan, but it was VERY painful going through the steps to get mortgage approval/underwriting and the final closing.