If you reside in Arizona, there’s a really good chance you’ve driven by a billboard advertising NOVA Home Loans. I don’t even live in Arizona but always see their advertisements when visiting.
The direct-to-consumer mortgage lender has a huge presence in the Copper State, and actually generated about 65% of its business there last year. They are a top Arizona mortgage lender.
While they also have brick-and-mortar locations in nearby states like California, Colorado, Nevada, and Texas, the lion’s share of mortgages are on properties located in Arizona.
And that’s a big deal because the company originated nearly $8 billion in home loans in 2020, meaning everyone in Arizona has probably heard of them, and lots have a NOVA Home Loans mortgage.
Their second biggest state is Colorado, where they do about a quarter of total volume, so it’s clear that much of their mortgage lending happens between these two states.
NOVA Home Loans Fast Facts
- Independent nonbank retail mortgage lender based in Tucson, Arizona
- A top-100 mortgage lender nationally founded in 1980
- Originated nearly $8 billion in home loans during 2020
- About two-thirds of its volume came from Arizona, and a quarter from Colorado
- Licensed in 14 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Washington
- Also offers financing on commercial and multi-family properties via NOVA Commercial Loans
- Sponsors the annual NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl
Applying for a Mortgage with NOVA Home Loans
The company prides itself on efficiency and a commitment to professionalism, thriving to provide the best customer experience possible.
To better manage expectations, they process all loan applications in-house from start to finish.
They also allow you to apply for a home loan directly on their website via a digital application powered by Ellie Mae.
This makes it easy to fill out a loan application from any device, securely upload documents, link financial accounts, eSign documents, and more.
Once approved, you can track loan progress, receive updates, and make contact with your loan team if you have questions.
If you’ve been referred to someone specific, or want to work with someone nearby, you can browse the loan officer directory on their website, then hit apply. Or just send that individual an email first.
Those who aren’t quite ready to apply can click on the “request consultation” button instead and provide some basic contact information, at which point a loan officer will reach out.
As always, you can simply pick up the phone and call them directly as well.
What Types of Mortgages Does NOVA Home Loans Offer?
- Home purchase loans, renovation loans, construction loans
- Rate and term and cash out refinances
- Reverse mortgages
- Bridge loans
- Fixed-rate mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages
- Conforming loans and jumbo loans
- Government loans: FHA, USDA, and VA
NOVA Home Loans has you pretty well covered no matter what type of mortgage you’re in need of.
They offer both home purchase loans and mortgage refinance loans, along with renovation loans, construction loans, and even reverse mortgages.
Those purchasing or refinancing a particularly expensive home can take advantage of a jumbo loan from the company.
And borrowers with limited funds set aside for a home purchase can get information about the many down payment assistance programs available.
You can also get a mortgage pre-approval from them if you’re thinking about buying a home. My assumption is they’re well-liked by Arizona real estate agents since they do so much business there.
They offer conforming loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with government-backed home loans including FHA loans, USDA loans, and VA loans.
NOVA also offers bridge loans if you want/need to buy a replacement house before selling your old one.
In terms of loan programs, you can get a fixed-rate mortgage in various terms, ranging from 10 to 30 years, or an adjustable-rate mortgage, such as a 5/1 or 7/1 ARM.
NOVA Home Loans Mortgage Rates
Like a lot of mortgage lenders, NOVA Home Loans doesn’t advertise their mortgage rates directly on their website or elsewhere as far as we know.
So if you want a mortgage rate quote, you’ll need to reach out to them directly for pricing.
Additionally, they don’t seem to disclose lender fees on their website, so again you’ll need to inquire with them regarding any fees they charge.
Because we don’t know their interest rates or lender fees, it’s impossible to know how competitive they are relative to other mortgage lenders.
So always take the time to shop around with other banks, credit unions, and so on to ensure you don’t miss out on a better deal.
The one hint we have about their rates and closing costs comes from their many reviews, which are generally very favorable.
NOVA Home Loans Reviews
NOVA Home Loans has a 4.98-star rating out of 5 on Zillow, based on nearly 3,000 customer reviews.
After scanning many of the reviews, it appears that most of the past customers indicated that the mortgage rate was lower than expected, along with the closing costs.
If checking out the reviews on Zillow, you can click on the names of individual loan officers to filter results to just one specific person. This can be helpful if you want to handpick who to work with.
On SocialSurvey, they have a 4.91 rating out of 5 based on nearly 25,000 customer reviews. Again, you can filter by individual loan officer if you want to see their specific performance.
The company has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 2011, and currently has an A+ BBB rating.
NOVA Home Loans was also a Good Neighbor Award recipient for the 2014 Better Business Bureau Torch Awards based on its commitment to southern Arizona via support of local charities.
At the moment, they don’t have any active customer complaints on the BBB website, which is typically a good sign.
All in all, they appear to be a well-liked company with lots of quality feedback.
NOVA Home Loans Pros and Cons
The Good
- Can apply for a home loan directly from the website
- Offer a digital mortgage application powered by Ellie Mae
- Lots of excellent reviews from past customers
- Plenty of different loan programs to choose from
- Free mortgage calculator and mortgage tutorials on-site
- Free smartphone app
The Possible Bad
- Only licensed in a handful of states (14 at the moment)
- Physical branch locations in only five states
- Do not advertise their mortgage rates
- No mention of lender fees on website