Carrington Mortgage Review 2026
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Our Take
4.5
Carrington Mortgage offers specialty loans for people who might have trouble getting a mortgage elsewhere, like self-employed borrowers or those with heavy debt. Average rates are low, though fees are on the higher side. A good fit for those who need flexibility to qualify for a mortgage after setbacks like bankruptcy or foreclosure.
Pros
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Low average mortgage rates, according to the latest federal data.
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Considers borrowers with bad credit, foreclosure or bankruptcy.
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Options for self-employed borrowers and alternative income documentation.
Cons
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Rates are posted online, but website navigation is clunky.
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Average origination fee is on the higher side, according to the latest federal data.
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Offers home equity loans, but no HELOCs.
Lender | Min. credit score | Min. down payment | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Visit Lenderat NBKC at NBKC | 620 | 3% | Visit Lenderat NBKC at NBKC |
 Visit Lenderat New American Funding at New American Funding | 580 | N/A | Visit Lenderat New American Funding at New American Funding |
 Visit Lenderat Rocket Mortgage, LLC at Rocket Mortgage, LLC | 580 | 3.5% | Visit Lenderat Rocket Mortgage, LLC at Rocket Mortgage, LLC |
 4.0 Visit Lenderat GO Mortgage at GO Mortgage | 620 | 3% | Visit Lenderat GO Mortgage at GO Mortgage |
 Visit Lenderat Veterans United at Veterans United | 620 | 0% | Visit Lenderat Veterans United at Veterans United |
Full Review
At a glance: Carrington Mortgage options
Carrington Mortgage is a nonbank lender based in Anaheim, California. The lender is licensed to lend in every state except Massachusetts, and services loans nationwide and in Puerto Rico.
🏠Common mortgages • Fixed- or adjustable-rate • Conventional • FHA • VA • Jumbo • Rate-and-term refinance
🔑 Specialty loans • Interest-only mortgages • Loans for vacation/second homes • Self-employed mortgages • Reverse mortgages • ITIN loans • Conventional loans for manufactured homes • Section 184 Indian Housing Loan Guarantee Program
💵 Home equity • Home equity loan • Cash-out refinance
» MORE: How to choose a mortgage lender
Carrington special offers and discounts
Carrington stands out for its selection of non-qualifying loans, known as non-QM loans. These loans offer purchase, refinance and cash-out options for borrowers who don’t meet traditional lending criteria. They include:
Flexible Advantage: For borrowers with bad credit and/or recent credit events (such as foreclosure, bankruptcy or missed payments), or self-employed borrowers with inconsistent income.
Flexible Advantage Plus: For borrowers with credit challenges who have since caught up on late payments.
Carrington Prime Advantage: For high-credit-score borrowers looking to borrow a larger amount (up to $3.5 million) but who have a past credit event or otherwise miss the qualifications for a jumbo loan.Â
The Advantage loan series is not available in Massachusetts or North Dakota, and its cash-out options are not available in Texas.
Carrington’s Advantage loans also offer the option of a 40-year term. This shrinks your monthly payment, but at a higher long-term cost: You’ll pay more in interest over time, and it’ll take longer to build equity.
Carrington also has two affiliate companies to support customers through the homebuying process, real estate brokerage Vylla Home and title services company Vylla Title.
» MORE: How to buy a house with bad credit
What does Carrington specialize in?
A lender’s experience with your loan type can make a big difference. We looked at the latest federal data to find the types of mortgages Carrington handles most often. Last year, FHA and VA loans made up the bulk of Carrington’s lending, with conventional coming in at less than 10% of its purchase volume.
Carrington reputation and customer experience
NerdWallet’s star ratings look at objective factors like rates, fees and loan options. To give you a sense of what the borrower experience is really like, we pulled the latest customer satisfaction scores from J.D. Power and Zillow, and we contacted the lender’s customer support.
2024 J.D. Power U.S. Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study
523
out of 1,000
Below-average satisfaction score: average = 596.
A mortgage servicer handles loan payments.
Zillow Mortgage Lender Customer Rating
4.92
out of 5
Excellent rating as of the date of publication.
Rating reflects more than 3,000 customer reviews.
Carrington Mortgage customer service options
Here’s how you can get in touch with Carrington. You can also email customer service.
Ways to reach Carrington Mortgage
Physical branches . . . . . . đźš« Phone support . . . . . . . . . âś… Mobile app . . . . . . . . . . . . âś… Online chat (bot) . . . . . . . đźš« Online chat (human) . . . . đźš«
🤓 Our Nerds say... mobile app ratings have improved
Abby Badach Doyle, lead writer, mortgages
It looks like Carrington has been investing in its mobile app user experience, compared to the last time we checked. In particular, Carrington made it easier to make a payment in the app — something user reviews complained was missing in the past.
At the time of publication, its average ratings were 4.9 on the App Store and 4.6 on the Google Play store. Last year, its average ratings were in the 2’s and 3’s.
» MORE: How to apply for a mortgage
Alternatives to Carrington Mortgage
Our biggest tip: Get offers from at least three different mortgage lenders. Comparison shopping can save you thousands of dollars. You can get rate quotes yourself, or work with a mortgage broker to shop around on your behalf.
New American Funding offers non-QM loans for borrowers with credit challenges. Rate, another nonbank lender, offers flexible mortgage options for self-employed borrowers.
» MORE: Best bad credit mortgage lenders
More from NerdWallet
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for mortgage lenders are evaluated based on four major categories: average mortgage rates and origination fees, rate transparency to consumers, variety of loan types (purchase, refinance, fixed and adjustable, for example) and customer experience. Among the factors we consider in these categories are: options to apply for home loans online, typical time to close, mobile app experience, level of detail about mortgage rates on lender websites, and NerdWallet’s own analysis of the rates and fees lenders reported in the latest available Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. These and other items inform detailed rubrics, which generate ratings from 1 star (poor) to 5 stars (excellent). Read more about how we rate mortgage lenders here.
