Today we’ll take a good look at a newer veteran-owned mortgage lender by the name of Strong Home Mortgage.
As the name implies, they want to put you in a strong position, whether you’re a first-time home buyer looking to make a good impression with a seller, or an existing homeowner who wants better terms on your mortgage.
Despite being a young company, their former-military founders have a combined 36 years of mortgage experience and counting.
They also pride themselves on providing mortgage financial literacy to their customers via their many social channels to empower their clients.
So far it all seems to be working as they’ve got excellent customer reviews across the internet and recently received a top-10 award from LendingTree. Let’s learn more.
Strong Home Mortgage Fast Facts
- Veteran-owned mortgage lender that offers home purchase and refinance loans
- Founded in 2017, headquartered in Manassas, Virginia
- Licensed to do business in 46 states and the District of Columbia
- Offer a $6,000 On-Time Closing Guarantee for home buyers
- A Costco mortgage program preferred lender
Strong Home Mortgage is a direct-to-consumer mortgage lender with a small handful of physical branches scattered across the country.
This means you’ll more than likely work with them remotely to close your home loan.
The company was founded by veterans in 2017, who also have a ton of mortgage experience from prior positions.
The current CEO is VMI graduate Roger Jones, and the president Mike Peoples, a former U.S. Army Ranger.
One notable fact about them is they’re one of just nine mortgage lenders that are part of the Costco Mortgage program. That means they come pre-vetted.
They are currently licensed to do business in 46 states and the District of Columbia. The company does not lend in the states of Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, or New York.
How to Apply with Strong Home Mortgage
To begin, you can either call them, request a quote online, visit a local branch if one is near you, or simply apply on your own.
Your best move might be to call or request a quote to ensure you like what you hear before proceeding to the actual application (you can also schedule a call from their website at your convenience).
Once you receive loan pricing and inquire about fees, you can dive into the application from your computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Strong Home Mortgage offers a digital mortgage experience courtesy of ICE Mortgage Technology software.
This means you can complete much of the loan process paperlessly, whether it’s filling out the application, uploading documents via the secure online portal, or eSigning disclosures.
Once your loan is submitted, you’ll be able to log on to that portal to check loan status and message your loan team 24/7.
All in all, they make it easy to apply for a home loan and get to the finish line thanks to the latest technology.
Strong Home Mortgage Premium Buyer
If you’re a home buyer, Strong Home Mortgage wants to put you in the best position to win the house, knowing bidding wars are the norm these days.
This means providing you with a conditional mortgage pre-approval upfront to show the sellers you’re serious and qualified.
It includes real financial documentation and is reviewed by an actual loan underwriter, instead of simply providing estimates.
On top of that, they offer a $6,000 On-Time Closing Guarantee to back it all up in case they’re unable to close on time and it’s their fault.
If that happens, they’ll provide up to $5,000 to you via closing costs credits and up to $1,000 to the sellers.
Their mantra is to hope for the best, but prep for the worst to help you land your dream home.
Strong Home Mortgage Loan Programs
- Home purchase loans
- Refinance loans: rate and term, cash out, streamline
- FHA loans
- VA loans
- USDA loans
- Jumbo loans
- Fixed-rate mortgages
- Adjustable-rate mortgages
While Strong Home Mortgage is a veteran-focused mortgage lender, they offer more than just VA loans.
In fact, you can get an FHA loan, USDA loan, jumbo loan, and also a conventional loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
They offer home purchase loans to new buyers and refinance loans to existing homeowners. So if you’re looking for a lower rate or cash out, they’ve got your back.
The company lends on all property types, including single-family homes, condos/townhomes, vacation properties, and multi-unit investment properties.
Both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages are available in a variety of loan terms to suit different risk appetites.
Strong Home Mortgage Rates
It’s unclear how competitive Strong Home Mortgage is as they don’t publicize their mortgage rates online.
However, because they’re a part of the Costco Mortgage program, my guess is they’re pretty low-cost relative to other lenders out there.
The same should go for mortgage fees, which have been referred to as lower than expected in many online reviews.
If you’re a Costco member, your lender fees will be capped at either $250 or $550, depending on your level of membership.
Be sure to consider both the interest rate and fees, collectively the mortgage APR, when shopping your loan with other lenders.
And yes, take the time to shop, even if their offer seems really attractive. Studies prove that those who shop tend to save thousands.
Strong Home Mortgage Reviews
Strong Home Mortgage prides itself on its excellent customer reviews, and isn’t shy about showing them off.
On Trustpilot, they’ve got a stellar 4.8-star rating out of 5 from over 4,100 customer reviews, with over 90% of them perfect 5-star ratings.
At LendingTree, it’s a very similar 4.9-star rating out of 5 from more than 700 reviews, along with a 97% recommended score.
Additionally, they were rated top-10 in customer satisfaction on the LendingTree platform for home lending during the third quarter of 2021.
Over at Zillow it’s more of the same, a 4.94-star rating from 600+ reviews – many of them indicate that the fees/closing costs were lower than expected.
They also have a 4.5-star rating on Google from 200+ reviews and a 4.7 out of 5 on Credit Karma from about 40 reviews.
Lastly, they have a 4.53/5 on the Better Business Bureau website from 60+ reviews, along with an ‘A+’ rating based on customer complaints. The company is also an accredited business with the BBB.
To sum things up, Strong Home Mortgage could be a good choice for a veteran home buyer thanks to their on-time closing guarantee, robust pre-approval, and excellent reviews.
They could also benefit an existing homeowner looking to refinance if their mortgage rates and fees are low, especially if you’re a Costco member.
Strong Home Mortgage Pros and Cons
The Pros
- Can apply for a home loan online in minutes
- Offer a digital mortgage application powered by ICE Mortgage Technology
- Lots of different loan programs to choose from
- Discounted lender fees for Costco members
- $6,000 On-Time Closing Guarantee for home buyers
- Excellent customer reviews across all major ratings websites
- Veteran owned and operated mortgage lender
- Promote mortgage literacy to educate their clients
- Some staff also speak Spanish
The Cons
- Not licensed in all 50 states
- Do not publicize mortgage rates or lender fees
(photo: Jernej Furman)