Alliant Credit Union Mortgage Review 2024
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Our Take
4.5
Alliant Credit Union offers some harder-to-find mortgage types and lets you customize interest rates online, but navigating their customer service options can be tricky as a non-member. Most likely to appeal to borrowers already interested in credit union membership.
Pros
- Mortgage borrowers do not need to become members of the credit union until they’ve reached the closing process, so interested home buyers can apply without committing to membership.
- Sample rates are displayed upfront, and it's easy to get detailed, personalized rates without providing any personally identifying information.
- No application fee.
Cons
- Customer service can be difficult to access as a non-member and may require sharing personal information.
- Home equity loans are not available.
Lender | Min. credit score | Min. down payment | |
|---|---|---|---|
580 | 3% | Visit Lenderat New American Funding at New American Funding | |
620 | 3% | Visit Lenderat NBKC at NBKC | |
580 | 3.5% | Visit Lenderat Rocket Mortgage, LLC at Rocket Mortgage, LLC |
Full Review
Alliant Credit Union is a credit union based in Chicago. Home loans are available in all states except Maryland, while its HELOC is only available in some states.
🏠 Popular loan types include: Fixed and adjustable rate; conventional; FHA; VA; USDA; jumbo; rate-and-term or cash-out refinance
🔑 Specialty loan options include: Physician loans; construction loans
💵 Home equity borrowing options: HELOCs
Alliant's HELOC boasts a six-month promotional interest rate before becoming a variable-rate loan, and required payments are interest-only during the 10-year draw period. You'll have to become a credit union member in order to apply for a HELOC; with a mortgage, you can apply prior to joining, but you'll need a membership to get the actual loan.
Membership eligibility options include living or working in Chicago, working for an eligible employer, joining Alliant's foundation for $5 or opening a bank account.
» MORE: How to apply for a mortgage
How we score Alliant Credit Union mortgages
Every year, NerdWallet writers and editors use the latest data and independent research to score lenders on an overall rubric, reflecting factors that are most important to mortgage borrowers. Select Why This Category Matters below to learn more.
Alliant Credit Union has a NerdWallet home loans rating of 4.5 stars overall. Here’s a breakdown of this year’s score.
Category | Star rating |
|---|---|
Average mortgage rates and fees | |
Mortgage rate transparency | |
Variety of loan types | |
Customer experience |
- Why This Category Matters
Average mortgage rates and fees (30%)
Our team analyzes federal data to compare mortgage lenders’ origination fees and offered mortgage rates, measuring annual averages across all loan types, as reported by the lenders. The lowest combination of average rates and fees earns the highest star rating in this category. (It’s worth noting that loans considered higher risk, including those such as FHA loans that are easier to qualify for, often have higher interest rates and fees.) Pro tip: In some cases, paying upfront fees may lower a borrower’s mortgage interest rate.
Mortgage rate transparency (25%)
We check how straightforward it is to comparison-shop rates online. NerdWallet’s transparency ratings are higher for lenders that post sample rates on their sites, and highest for sites with self-serve tools that allow shoppers to see what rates might be like for their particular loan. Pro tip: Borrowers who compare customized rate quotes by applying to three or more lenders could save thousands of dollars over the life of their loan.
Variety of loan types (25%)
Finding the right mortgage is different for each borrower. The highest star ratings in this category are awarded to lenders that our research shows offer a wide range of loan types, improving the odds that a borrower will find the best match for their needs: options for purchase and refinance; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans; government-backed FHA, VA or USDA loans; renovation or construction loans; and home equity loans or HELOCs.
Customer experience (20%)
How easy is it to interact with this lender? The highest-rated lenders in this category offer features that are convenient and clarifying for borrowers, such as: an online application, multiple customer service options, a helpful mobile app and candid closing timeline communications.
What borrowers say about Alliant Credit Union mortgages
NerdWallet’s lender star ratings assess objective qualities, including rates, fees and loan offerings. To help you understand borrowers’ subjective experiences, NerdWallet gathered customer satisfaction ratings from Zillow. We also contacted Alliant customer support.
→ Excellent customer rating on Zillow.
Customer rating: 4.93 out of 5, as of the date of publication. This rating only reflects about 70 customer reviews, which is low for Zillow.
🤓 Our Nerds say…
Alliant has a decent menu of loan options and you can easily customize sample rates, but little information about their loans is readily available online. When we called to ask a general question about home loans, we were prompted to enter a social security number (loan number is an option for existing customers). The site's chat repeatedly said no human representatives were available and automatically redirected us to online resources. Unlike many credit unions, Alliant does not have physical branches.
Alternatives to a home loan from Alliant Credit Union
We recommend comparing mortgage rate offers from three or more lenders.
Andrews Federal Credit Union is another credit union that scored well in our research.
If you're looking for specialty loan types, Bank of America also has physician loans and Flagstar has several construction loan options.
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.
