Today we’ll take a hard look at “Silverton Mortgage,” a direct mortgage lender based out Atlanta, Georgia that began as a two-person shop back in 1998.
In fact, it wasn’t even a shop, but a bedroom, where president and CEO Josh Moffitt began growing the company rapidly.
Just two decades later, they were acquired by Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company.
Now they’re a multi-billion-dollar a year mortgage lender and one the nation’s fastest growing financial companies.
Let’s learn more to see if they’re the right fit for your home loan financing needs.
Silverton Mortgage Fast Facts
- Direct-to-consumer mortgage lender
- Offers home purchase loans and mortgage refinancing
- Founded in 1998, headquartered in Atlanta, GA
- Parent company is Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc. (a division of Berkshire Hathaway)
- Currently licensed to do business in 45 states and the District of Columbia
- Funded $4.3 billion in home loans last year (about 75% of volume is purchase loans)
- Their hybrid e-closing solution is now available to customers in every state
Silverton Mortgage is a direct-to-consumer mortgage lender that offers home purchase, renovation, construction, and mortgage refinance loans.
They appear to specialize in home purchase lending, with such loans accounting for about 75% of their overall volume. This is due to their many relationships with local real estate agents.
As noted, their parent company is Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc., a division of Berkshire Hathaway, which acquired them in 2018.
Interestingly, Vanderbilt Mortgage is actually one of the nation’s largest manufactured and modular home lenders.
Silverton Mortgage offers financing on site-built homes, so if you’re going the traditional home buying route they could offer a good solution.
At the moment, they’re licensed in 45 states and the District of Columbia. The only exceptions are Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, and Wisconsin.
Last year, their parent company funded $4.3 billion in home loans, with nearly 40% from the state of Georgia.
If you live in the Peach State, there’s a good chance you’ll come across them if actively searching for a home loan.
How to Apply with Silverton Mortgage
To get started, you can call them up or go online. Once at their website, you’ll have the option of browsing their loan originator directory or simply selecting “Apply Now.”
It might be best to find a loan officer licensed in your state first via the directory first. That way you can learn more about the individuals who work at Silverton Mortgage.
Assuming you find someone that seems like a good fit, you’ll be able to contact them directly to ask about product eligibility and loan pricing.
There’s also a button on each originator’s page to apply once you’re ready to go.
They offer a digital mortgage application that allows you to perform most loan tasks electronically, whether it’s linking a bank account, ordering a credit report, or eSigning disclosures.
Because they’re a direct lender, the entire loan process is conducted in-house. This means your file will be handled internally from application to closing.
Aside from being more secure, this should also lead to a faster closing, all else being equal.
Once your loan is submitted, you can visit the borrower portal to check status and upload necessary documents.
And perhaps best of all, you can take advantage of their hybrid e-closing where most paperwork is handled digitally, reducing in-person interactions to 15 minutes or less.
All in all, they make it easy to apply for a mortgage and manage everything from start to finish.
Silverton Mortgage Loan Programs
- Home purchase loans
- Refinance loans: rate and term, cash out, streamline
- Renovation loans
- Construction-to-perm loans
- Conforming loans backed by Fannie/Freddie
- FHA loans
- VA loans
- USDA loans
- Jumbo loans up to $3 million loan amounts
- Fixed-rate and adjustable-rate options available
One area where Silverton Mortgage really shines is their product menu. They offer a ton of different loan programs.
You can get a home purchase loan, refinance, renovation loan, or construction loan on a variety of different property types.
And they even have a program for CrossMod homes, which are described as a hybrid between manufactured homes and site-built homes.
Their MH Advantage solution comes with low down payment options and the ability to combine programs like HomeReady to take advantage of reduced interest rates.
With regard to specific loan types, they’ve got conforming loans, jumbo loans, and the full suite of government loans, including FHA, VA, and USDA loans.
Both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages are available in a variety of different loan terms.
Recently, they launched several zero down home loan options to address affordability concerns.
Simply put, you shouldn’t have much of a problem finding a suitable loan program, no matter what you’re looking for.
Silverton Secure+ Program
As mentioned, Silverton Mortgage is big on home purchase loans, and their Silverton Secure+ program could give you the edge in a competitive housing market.
It consists of a robust mortgage pre-approval where a Silverton underwriter reviews and approves your loan file BEFORE a property is found.
And you can pre-lock your mortgage rate prior to finding a home to avoid missing out on a low interest rate.
Lastly, it’s all backed up by a $1,000 On-Time Closing Guarantee where Silverton will pay both the buyer and seller $1,000 if they fail to close on time.
These assurances could make your offer just that little bit stronger if faced with a bidding war, knowing your financing is likely to come through.
Silverton Mortgage Rates
The only slight negative to Silverton Mortgage is their lack of information regarding mortgage rates and lender fees.
For one reason or another, they don’t post them online for all to see. It’d be nice if they did just to get an idea of pricing, even though it will vary from loan to loan.
That being said, this doesn’t mean their mortgage rates are higher than the competition, it’s just that we don’t know.
Same goes for lender fees – it’s unclear if they charge a loan origination fee, or separate fees for underwriting and processing.
Be sure to get all these details when speaking with a loan originator (and compare their mortgage APR to other lenders you speak with).
Silverton Mortgage Reviews
They come very highly rated, with a 4.82 out of 5 score on Experience.com from a whopping 16,000 reviews. Take the time to filter by loan officer for a more tailored view.
On Zillow, Silverton Mortgage has an almost-perfect 4.94-star rating out of a possible 5 from about 1,200 customer reviews.
And quite a few of them indicate that the mortgage rate received was lower than expected, and/or that the closing costs were cheaper than anticipated.
At LendingTree, it’s a slightly lower 4.6 out of a possible 5 from roughly 200 reviews, which is still deemed excellent, along with a 94% recommended rate.
Over at Google, it’s a similar 4.8-star rating from about 500 reviews. So they appear to be very consistent.
To sum things up, Silverton Mortgage could be a good choice for home buyers due to their relationships with local real estate agents and Secure+ program.
Their wide array of home loan programs is also a plus for those buying a new build or renovating a fixer-upper.
And if their mortgage rates and lender fees are low, they could also be a good option for existing homeowners looking to refinance.
Silverton Mortgage Pros and Cons
The Pros
- Can apply for a home loan online in minutes
- Offer a digital mortgage application and mostly paperless process
- Hybrid e-closings reduce in-person interaction to 15 minutes or less
- Tons of loan programs to choose from including jumbos and construction loans
- Excellent customer reviews across ratings websites
- Backed by a very large company (Berkshire Hathaway)
- Parent company has an A+ BBB rating
- $1,000 On-Time Closing Guarantee for home buyers (and sellers)
- Retain servicing throughout the life of a loan
The Cons
- Not licensed in Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, or Wisconsin
- Do not publicize mortgage rates or lender fees