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.

» 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. 

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.

How we score Carrington Mortgage

Each year, NerdWallet writers and editors dig into the latest data and independent research on mortgage lending. Then, we rate lenders based on categories that matter most to mortgage borrowers.

Carrington has a NerdWallet home loans rating of 4.5 stars overall. Here’s a breakdown of this year’s score.

• The Nerdy details: Our rating system, explainedThe Nerdy details: Our rating system, explained

  Ah, so you’re the “read the fine print” type? We got you. Here’s how our scoring rubric works.

  Average mortgage rates and fees (30%)

  We review federal data (as reported by the lenders) and analyze mortgage lenders’ average fees and interest rates across all loan types. Lenders with the lowest average costs get the highest star ratings. Keep in mind: Loans that are easier to qualify for, like FHA loans, usually have higher rates and fees because lenders see them as a higher risk. Pro tip: Paying some fees upfront can sometimes lower your interest rate.

  Mortgage rate transparency (25%)

  We look at how easy it is to compare mortgage rates online. Lenders get higher transparency ratings if they show sample rates on their website. (Not all lenders do!) The best ratings go to lenders that offer interactive tools that let you customize a rate quote on your own.

  Variety of loan types (25%)

  There’s no one-size-fits-all mortgage. Lenders earn top ratings in this category when they offer a large variety of mortgage types. The more variety, the higher their score. A lender earns points for purchase and refinance; fixed and adjustable rates; FHA, VA or USDA loans; renovation or construction loans; and home equity loans or HELOCs.

  Customer experience (20%)

  How easy is it to work with this lender? Top-rated lenders offer helpful features like online applications, multiple ways to get support, a user-friendly mobile app and clear updates about the loan closing timeline.

Carrington bonus points

Carrington earned bonus points for offering conventional loans for manufactured homes and offering mortgage options for borrowers with credit scores below 600.

» MORE: How to get the best mortgage rate

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.

Carrington Mortgage customer service options

Here’s how you can get in touch with Carrington. You can also email customer service.

» 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

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