Carrington Mortgage Review 2025

Carrington Mortgage is a nonbank lender based in Anaheim, California. Loans are available in 48 states; some loan types are not available in Massachusetts, North Dakota or Texas.

Carrington stands out for its selection of non-qualifying loans, known as non-QM loans. These offer purchase, refinance and cash-out options for borrowers who don’t meet traditional lending criteria. (Cash-out options are not available in Texas.) They include:

• Carrington 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.

• Carrington 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 higher amount (up to $3.5 million) who have a past credit event or otherwise miss the qualifications for a jumbo loan.

Carrington’s non-QM loans also offer the option of a 40-year term. This shrinks your monthly payment, but at a 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 apply for a mortgage

How we score Carrington Mortgage

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.

Carrington Mortgage has a NerdWallet home loans rating of 3.5 stars overall. Here’s a breakdown of this year’s score.

• 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.

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

» MORE: How to get the best mortgage rate

What borrowers say about Carrington Mortgage

NerdWallet’s lender star ratings assess objective qualities, including rates, fees and loan offerings. To help you understand borrowers’ subjective experiences, NerdWallet has gathered customer satisfaction ratings from J.D. Power and Zillow. We also contacted Carrington customer support.

→ Below-average score in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study. A mortgage servicer handles loan payments.

• Score: 533 out of 1,000. Industry average for servicing is 606. 

→ Excellent customer rating on Zillow.

• Customer rating: 4.93 out of 5, as of the date of publication. Rating reflects more than 900 customer reviews.

Carrington Mortgage and consumer trust

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Carrington in November 2022. The lender was ordered to repay improperly charged late fees and pay $5.25 million into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

A lender’s NerdWallet star rating is negatively affected by recent regulatory actions for violations that harmed mortgage customers. Since the CFPB action took place more than two years ago, Carrington’s star rating was not affected in 2025. When shopping for a mortgage lender, do an online search to see if the company is in the news, and why.

Alternatives to a home loan from Carrington Mortgage

We recommend comparing mortgage rate offers from three or more lenders.

New American Funding offers non-QM loans for borrowers with credit challenges.

Better, another nonbank lender, provides loan options for self-employed borrowers.

» MORE: Best mortgage lenders for borrowers with low or bad credit scores

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