CrossCountry Mortgage Review

Whether you’re looking into how to buy a house or are ready to start the homebuying process, one of the main factors to consider is the cost. A mortgage can be your ticket to making your dream of home ownership a reality, but it can also become a financial burden. As this is one of the biggest financial commitments of your life, choosing the right lender is crucial.

The best mortgage lenders will help you make the right choices and shape a mortgage into an investment for your future. If you've been going through CrossCountry Mortgage reviews, this comprehensive guide to the company will help you gauge once and for all if it is the right choice for you.

CrossCountry Mortgage Overview

CrossCountry Mortgage is a nationwide lender that offers a variety of home loan options and home financing solutions. This lender is a particularly good option for first-time home buyers.

Under its Smart Start loan program, CrossCountry offers down payment assistance of up to $4,000 or 2% of the home purchase, whichever is lower. The company’s website also features several helpful resources for homebuyers, including a comprehensive 12-step list for first-time buyers. The list includes tips on how to determine the right loan amount, find the right house, select a good real estate agent and avoid pitfalls that first-time buyers often make. Other online resources include videos, a CrossCountry mortgage calculator, free rate quotes and an FAQ section.

CrossCountry focuses on providing information and pointers to prospective homebuyers directly from its website while also giving them the opportunity to get rate quotes and get assigned to a loan officer quickly and easily. These aspects make CrossCountry our pick for the best mortgage lender for first-time homebuyers.

CrossCountry Mortgage pros and cons

Pros explained

Fast loan closures

When you’ve found your dream home, losing it to another buyer can feel terrible. Fast closures are, therefore, a huge advantage, especially in a competitive home market. CrossCountry Mortgage offers a FastTrack Credit Approval program aimed at helping buyers with a quicker and more streamlined mortgage closing process that lasts as little as 21 days, according to the company.

Availability in 50 states

With more than 600 branches across the United States, CrossCountry Mortgage has a wide network and is licensed in all 50 states. This makes it easy for potential loan applicants to meet with a company representative in person rather than having to rely on online communication. In a transaction as significant as purchasing a home, it is reassuring to have a wide network of customer support.

Low down payment options

An important part of buying a home is saving up for a down payment. To make homeownership more accessible, CrossCountry Mortgage offers loans of up to 97% of the home value, which reduces the down payment to as little as 3%. The company also offers an alternate option to cover your mortgage insurance, but this option will result in a higher interest rate for your mortgage loan.

Large variety of loans

CrossCountry Mortgage provides a comprehensive selection of loans to meet the needs and requirements of many different borrowers. It offers options in all major home purchase loan categories (conventional, government and jumbo). Under these categories, the company offers the following loan programs:

• Conventional loans
• Fixed-rate mortgages
• FHA 203(k) home loans
• VA home loans
• Adjustable rate mortgages
• FHA home loans
• USDA home loans
• Jumbo loans

Cons explained

Non-disclosure of mortgage rates on its website

CrossCountry’s mortgage rates are not displayed on its website. Instead, potential customers must reach out to a company representative in order to get personalized rates. However, the company does offer information on how your mortgage rate is calculated and what you can do to reduce it.

Lender fee not mentioned

CrossCountry Mortgage does not currently list the fees it charges for servicing loans on its website. If you're thinking about choosing CrossCountry Mortgage as your lender, be proactive and inquire about its fee structure and other expenses that may be linked to its mortgage services. This includes closing costs — which could involve a host of other expenses such as property taxes —, application fees, title searches, loan origination fees and more.

No online preapproval

Getting preapproved online is often faster and more convenient. Applicants merely have to submit the required information and can get preapproved for their mortgage loan once they’ve passed a credit check. Getting preapproved for a CrossCountry Mortgage loan, however, requires applicants to get in touch with a loan officer from the company.

CrossCountry Mortgage offerings

Quality mortgage companies provide a wide range of loan options that cater to the buyer’s needs, credit and budget. The following are CrossCountry Mortgage’s main offerings.

Conventional loans

CrossCountry offers conventional mortgage loans, the simplest variety of home loans. To qualify for these, applicants need to have sufficient income and credit history. The lender offers two types of conventional mortgage loans:

• Fixed Rate Mortgages: These loans have a fixed interest rate and ensure that you'll pay a fixed amount throughout the period of the loan. These loans also give you the option to refinance and save on interest payments in case market interest rates fall.

• Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs): These loans feature a rate of interest that is locked for a predetermined number of years, after which it can be adjusted by the bank. Thus, after the lock-in period, your interest payments on your home loan may go down or up, although there are caps on how much the rate can be adjusted. This is a good option for those who plan on keeping their purchased home only for a few years since ARMs generally have a lower interest rate to start with.

FHA loans

CrossCountry Mortgage is an FHA-approved lender. An FHA home loan is a government-backed mortgage program with a low down payment requirement of 3.5%, along with other benefits like the flexibility of having a parent or other relative who’s not occupying the home become a co-applicant on the loan.

CrossCountry Mortgage’s minimum credit score requirements for these loans are also lower than conventional loans. However, these types of loans do require mortgage insurance, which is an added expense.

VA loans

VA loans are guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and offered to qualified veterans. These loans often require zero down payment and no mortgage insurance while offering up to 100% financing. Spouses of deceased veterans may also be eligible for VA loans.

USDA loan

USDA loans are designed to help low-income applicants purchase, construct or repair homes in eligible rural areas. These loans generally don’t require a down payment, and applicants with low credit scores may also be eligible. The main requirement of these loans is for the applicant to have a history of steady income.

Jumbo loans

Jumbo loans, as the name suggests, are for amounts that are larger than conventional loans and can total up to $5 million. These loans cater to high-value and luxury properties. However, they also function like conventional loans in the sense that they can take the form of either fixed-rate mortgages or adjustable-rate mortgages. CountryCross Mortgage offers both fixed and adjustable-rate jumbo loans.

Manufactured home loans

Manufactured homes are unconventional homes that are generally built in a workshop or factory and assembled on the building site. For the property to qualify as a manufactured home, it must have been built on or after June 15, 1976, and adhere to the requirements set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code).

CrossCountry offers several loan options for manufactured homes, including VA, FHA, conventional and personal loans. You can also get government-backed loans from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae through CrossCountry. The lender also offers chattel loans, which can be used to purchase a mobile home.

Refinance loans

Refinance loans involve substituting your current mortgage debt with a new home loan, which may come with more favorable terms. These might be a shorter repayment duration, more affordable monthly payments or a decreased interest rate. Like its mortgage loan offerings, CrossCountry also offers several options for refinance loans, including conventional loans, reduced refinance rate loans for veterans, FHA refinance loans, USDA rural refinance loans and more.

Reverse mortgage loans

Reverse mortgages can help supplement income by allowing people 62 years of age or older to access the inherent value of their homes. This means that you can get funds, either monthly or as lump sums, in exchange for home equity. In order to qualify for reverse mortgages, the applicant must have full or almost full ownership of their home.

Reverse mortgage loans are especially useful for older adults or retired individuals to supplement their income. CrossCountry offers several types of reverse mortgage loans to meet the needs of applicants in different stages of their lives.

HELOCs

Also called a home equity line of credit, a HELOC is a secondary mortgage that functions as a credit line in exchange for equity in your home. You're essentially borrowing funds using your home as collateral.

You can use a CrossCountry Mortgage HELOC loan to pay for major expenses like college tuition, home renovation or debt consolidation. The lender also provides fixed and variable rate options for HELOC loans as well as flexibility in how the funds can be accessed, such as through card payments, checks or cash withdrawals.

CCM Smart Start

The Smart Start loan program is specifically designed for first-time homebuyers, providing down payment support of up to $4,000 or 2% of the home’s value. This program is available in all 50 states and requires at least one of the homebuyers applying for the loan to be a first-time homebuyer. Loan applicants for this program also need to be at or below 80% of the county area's median income.

CCM Equity Express

CrossCountry Mortgage also offers loans with quick turnaround times under its Equity Express program. These loans offer funds of up to 85% of your home’s value, and the company claims application and closing times can be as low as five minutes. Depending on local regulations, Equity Express loans can be applied for and processed online. The funds can also be credited in as little as five days.

These fixed-rate loans basically use your home as collateral and must, therefore, be used with caution and repaid to avoid losing your home or damaging your credit score. Loan amounts between $25,000 and $400,000 are available.

CrossCountry Mortgage pricing

CrossCountry doesn’t disclose its rates online. In order to get a quote, you must fill out a brief online questionnaire on the company website specifying whether you’re a first-time homebuyer, what your employment status is, the value of the home you're considering purchasing and other details. Once you provide your contact details, a CrossCountry representative will contact you with your options.

CrossCountry Mortgage financial stability

CrossCountry Mortgage has not had any serious financial setbacks in recent history and has been featured in the Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies. The company also built its new headquarters, valued at $46 million, in 2021.

In 2023, CrossCountry Mortgage was ranked third out of 235 lenders in the Scotsman Guide Top Mortgage Lenders list, which ranks high-performing originators. To be eligible, a company needs to have at least $40 million in residential loan volume or have closed at least 100 loans in 2022. These factors support the view that CrossCountry is financially stable.

CrossCountry Mortgage accessibility

Availability

Through its 600 branches, CrossCountry provides services in all 50 states. The company’s website allows users to apply for a free rate quote or find a representative loan officer nearby.

Contact information

You can contact CrossCountry Mortgage on its toll-free phone number at 877-351-3400. A contact form on the company website can also be used to send queries.

User experience

The company’s website offers comprehensive information on its loan offerings and eligibility criteria. However, in order to get a rate quote, you'll have to fill out a brief questionnaire and then wait for a representative of the company to contact you with pricing options.

CrossCountry Mortgage customer satisfaction

CrossCountry Mortgage has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This rating takes into consideration the company’s scale, the number of complaints it has received and whether it has responded to these complaints in a timely and appropriate manner.

In its 2023 customer satisfaction study of mortgage providers, JD Power assigned CrossCountry Mortgage an index score of 646, ranking it 8th on the list. The industry average score was 601, suggesting that customer satisfaction for CrossCountry is above average.

An incident in 2021, sometimes referred to as the CrossCountry Mortgage scandal, appears to have brought some negative publicity. It centered around solicitation calls made by the company to consumers in Massachusetts and resulted in a court-ordered cease and desist. The company was ordered to pay a penalty of $25,000.

How we evaluated CrossCountry Mortgage

For this CrossCountry Mortgage review, we evaluated the lender on several factors, including:

• Services offered: We looked into the range of services and mortgage products offered, including ones that set CrossCountry apart from competitors.

• Pros and cons: We weighed what potential customers should watch out for against the features they will find particularly useful.

• Pricing and transparency: We examined how CrossCountry's products are priced and how easy it is to get pricing information from the company.

• Financial stability: We investigated whether or not CrossCountry is financially stable.

• Accessibility and network: We explored the company's network and availability across the country.

• Customer experience: We considered customer feedback and whether the company responds to customer complaints in an appropriate and timely manner.

Summary of Money's CrossCountry Mortgage review

CrossCountry Mortgage offers a wide range of conventional and government-backed loan and home financing mortgage options. The company is especially adept at offering loan funds quickly, and its presence in all 50 states makes it convenient to access its services. Its various offers to reduce down payments on homes also make CrossCountry Mortgage a great option for first-time homeowners.

Though the website offers comprehensive information about its offerings, the company doesn’t reveal its fees or rates. With no option of getting online preapproval either, potential customers must contact a company representative in order to begin their application. The company is rated above average for customer satisfaction and is financially stable. However, its court-ordered fine for solicitation calls in 2021 is a recent blemish in CrossCountry's reputation.